Absolute Choice
by Asuraa
Summary: A red translucent panel. Two options. Every day he is forced to make a choice, one which he cannot refuse and which he cannot avoid. He must choose one of the two options. An absolute choice. A "Gamer Naruto" story with an original twist. Starts out canon but then it gradually becomes AU.
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

AN: Absolute Choice is a Naruto + RPG Elements type of fic. It starts out canon but it gradually becomes AU. It's a different take on the gamer type of fics, with less focus on the stats and more on something else.

No harem or multiparing. OTP - Naruto/Naruko. But Naruko is basically an Original Character that the ff writers can shape however they like. That said, expect a surprise in regards to my take on Naruko's charcter.

"Hello" - normal talk

' _Hello_ ' - thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Prologue**

"Why does it have to be like this?!"

"I don't want to do it!"

"I'm not willing!"

"JUST WHY?!"

The screams of a boy resounded from atop Senju Hashirama's statue in the Valley of the End.

But nobody could hear him. Nobody could even see him. The entire world, everything the boy saw around him, was dyed in shades of grey and black. There was no colour, no movement...nothing. Even the wind stood still and the water looked as though it had been frozen over.

However, one thing was different. There was an exception: a red panel was floating in mid-air in front of the boy's eyes.

 **ABSOLUTE CHOICE**

 **[1] Kill Uchiha Sasuke**

 **[2] Let Uchiha Sasuke escape at the expense of your team's annihilation (Hyuuga Neji, Choji Akimichi, Inuzuka Kiba and Shikamaru Nara)**

"I've had enough of this bullshit! I don't want it anymore! Who was the bastard that made this stupid thing?!" Naruto screamed towards the skies in anger.

He didn't want to kill Sasuke. For him, the Uchiha was not just a teammate and a rival but someone whom he saw almost like a brother! But, at the same time, he didn't want for any of his teammates to die, especially since it was Sasuke that had betrayed the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

A Rasengan tainted by Kyuubi's chakra took form in his palm and he slammed it through the red panel in front of his eyes. But his hand passed through it as if it were a hologram, the panel only shimmering a bit at the contact.

At that moment, another panel, popped up in front of the red one.

 **The player has 30 seconds left to make a choice.  
** **Clause 1: If a choice is not made in time, the system will automatically choose the first option by default.  
** **Clause 2: The failure in accomplishing the task of the first option will lead to not only the player's** **death but to his teammates' death as well.  
** **Clause 3: If the second option is chosen, the player's Reputation Status with Konohagakure no Sato will change from "Friendly" to "Hated". The player will be branded as a traitor and a bounty will be placed on his head.**

Naruto entered a state of despair after reading the information written on the red panel. He had been thinking to choose the first option and let himself killed by Sasuke. That way neither the Uchiha nor his teammates died. The clauses brought forth by the red panel, however, cut off that loophole.

 _30 seconds..._

 _20 seconds..._

 _10 seconds..._

 _5 seconds..._

 _4 seconds..._

 _3 seconds..._

 _2 seconds..._

 _1 second._

When the counter on the red panel stopped, another panel popped up in front of Naruto's eyes.

 **Due to an option not having been chosen by the player, the system has chosen by default the first option: [1] Kill Uchiha Sasuke.**

When the last glowing window appeared, Naruto's eyes misted. He didn't even have enough time to think about the situation. But deep inside his heart Naruto knew what he had to choose. Because, in the end, he was a shinobi. And although Sasuke was his best friend, he couldn't say that his life was more important than that of his other 4 friends, that being the case especially since Sasuke betrayed the village.

The previously frozen, dull-grey coloured world returned to normal. In front of his eyes, atop the statue of Uchiha Madara, Sasuke stood glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke." the blonde said and hot tears began to fall down his whiskered cheeks. But, in the next moment, they were evaporated. A malevolent crimson coloured chakra exploded from him and the inhuman roar that came out from his throat shook the valley.

* * *

AN:

 _(I'm not an English native and I don't have a beta either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	2. Chapter 2 - A 'game'

AN:

Red windows/panels - used for the [Absolute Choice] and other urgent messages related to it.

Green windows/panels - for announcing achievements like completing a quest or leveling up.

Blue windows/panels - others

"Hello" - normal talk

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - A ''game''  
**

Laying on the grass in the shade of a tree, Naruto yawned loudly.

"It's so hot." he complained.

And indeed, it was an exceptionally hot day, even when considering the hot weather specific to the Land of Fire.

"Those losers at the Academy must be dying in there." Naruto said snickering by himself. Iruka's boring droning could be classified as a lethal weapon on that kind of weather.

Although it was more comfortable sitting in the shade, Naruto began to get bored. He was just a 10 year old child, and full of energy at that. He couldn't just lay down like an old man all day long.

"Can't wait to become a ninja!"

"I'll go on missions, kick everyone's ass and make these stupid villagers acknowledge me!"

Spurned by his own motivational speech, Naruto jumped up to his feet and puffed his chest out, taking a confident posture as he started spouting his usual line.

"And one day...one day I'll become the Hokage! And not just a Hokage! But the strongest of them all!" he declared, shooting a challenging look at the unmoving monument depicting the 4 Hokage.

But in that moment, all of a sudden, the world went still. The wind stopped blowing and the trees around him lost their colour. Everything around him became grey as though they had been petrified.

"W-What is happening?!" Naruto stuttered in fear.

He began to panic.

"I-Is this genjutsu?"

Naruto didn't know many things but he heard at some point one of the instructors at the Academy teaching about the 3 main arts of the shinobi: taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. And, from what he heard, genjutsu was about creating illusions. But, of course, creating illusions wasn't badass enough in his opinion so he simply cast it aside.

He hurriedly put his hands in a ram seal and shouted:

"Kai!"

A large amount of chakra was expelled from his body but nothing happened.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Damnit!"

As he was panicking, not knowing what to do, a red, translucent window appeared out of nowhere in front of his eyes. It was glowing and when Naruto fearfully tried to touch it, his fingers went through it as though it was just an illusion. The next moment, his eyes fell on the lines written on it:

 **ABSOLUTE CHOICE**

 **Would you like to play a game?  
** **[1] Yes.  
** **[2] No.**

Another red panel popped up in front of his eyes after he finished reading:

 **You have 30 seconds to make a choice. If an option is not chosen in the specified time frame, the [System] will automatically choose the first option by default.**

Naruto didn't know what to make of it. The whole experience was too surreal.

"Did I actually fall asleep?"

But then he shook his head. He didn't remember ever having such a vivid dream. Then...was this part of the illusion? Naruto simply didn't know what to think.

Deeply buried in his thoughts, Naruto didn't notice the countdown's progression. It was only when a red window popped in front of his eyes that he registered what happened.

 **Due to an option not having chosen in the specified time frame, the [System] has automatically chosen the first option by default.**

Naruto barely finished reading the text on the last panel when a green panel popped up and the sound of a bell ringing was heard:

 **Congratulations! You have become a player.  
** **Henceforth, every day, you will have to make a choice. A choice that you cannot refuse nor avoid as the system will always choose the first option by default should you not chose one by yourself.**

 _Scene break_

 **ABSOLUTE CHOICE  
**

 **[1] Set Mizuki's house on fire at night.  
** **[2] Vandalize the Hokage Monument in broad daylight.**

Two red windows popped up in front of his eyes at the same time:

 **[1] Set Mizuki's house on fire at night  
 _Consequences_ :  
** **\- the player will get rid of one of his future enemies  
** ** _Rewards_ :  
** **\- EXP: 2000**

Just as he finished reading the first panel, Naruto screamed:

"What the hell, I'm not a murderer!"

With hesitating eyes, Naruto glanced at the second red window.

 **[2] Vandalize the Hokage Monument in broad daylight.  
** _ **Consequences:  
**_ **\- the player's Reputation with Konohagakure no Sato will reach the lowest level of "Hostile"  
** _ **Rewards:  
**_ **\- Stealth: +1 lvl  
** **\- 10 bowls of Ichiraku Ramen free  
** **\- EXP: 100**

The boy's eyes fell on "10 bowls of Ichiraku Ramen free" as though they had sensors for detecting the word "ramen". He barely even registered the consequences of choosing the 2nd option or how much lower its experience rewards were compared with the first option.

He instantly yelled:

"Second! Free ramen!"

When his voice faded away, the glowing windows of light disappeared and the world reverted to its normal appearance. Everything came back to life and Naruto released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

But then, his face scrunched into a cute frown.

 _'Was that just my imagination? Or did one of the instructors at the Academy prank me with a genjutsu?'_

He shook his head. No-one in Konoha would make a joke about killing a fellow villager by setting his house on fire. It had to have been just his imagination!

...But then, a very deep voice rumbled within his mind.

 ** _'What if it wasn't?'_**

Naruto was startled.

"W-Who was that?!"

But his yell didn't receive an answer.

Naruto gripped at his blonde locks of hair and yelled in frustration.

"Damnit! Too many weird thing are happening as of late!"

Right away a growl was heard from his stomach.

"Ow, I'm also hungry!"

His small allowance had been spent already and he didn't have any money left to buy anything. He had tried earlier in the morning to catch some fish at the river, but he had not had any luck.

In that moment his hunger made the previously ridiculous thoughts turn very plausible:

 _'What if it was actually true? I'd get 10 bowls of ramen!'_

 _'Won't know for sure till I try and see... Right?'_

A grin appeared on his whiskered face.

"Yosh! Ramen, here I come!"

 _Scene break - next day_

"Why is that bastard's level so high!" Naruto growled to himself.

He was fuming at the sight in front of him: Above Uchiha Sasuke's head, with a blue font, was written:

 _《The last Uchiha》_

 _Lvl 27 Uchiha Sasuke_

He got even more annoyed when he saw what was floating above his head:

 _《The Jinchuuriki》_

 _Lvl 13 Uzumaki Naruto_

"What does jinchuuriki even mean?! And again why the hell is his level so high? I bet I could kick his ass if I really gave my all!"

Naruto hadn't closed an eye last night. He couldn't believe that he really got 10 free bowls of ramen after vandalizing the Hokage Monument. Although Iruka scolded him for it, the scarred instructor brought Naruto to Ichiraku and paid for him to eat 10 bowls of ramen! Naruto had been ecstatic.

However, it took Naruto an entire night to mull over all the new things the [System] told him after that. Stats, Titles, Experience Points, Hit Points, Chakra Points...there were so many new things that he felt a headache every time he tried to remember them. He thought it was hopeless; he was going to slowly figure out what each of those meant.

There was, however, one thing that he managed to memorize: apparently, everyone's strength or importance was quantified in levels:

1\. Civilians and Academy students' level were not higher than 25.  
2\. Genins' levels were between 25 and 40.  
3\. Chunins' levels were between 40 and 60.

He had also been told about the levels of Jounin and that of the Kage but Naruto forgot about them. He figured though that since the maximum level was 100, then the old man must be level 100 too.

And that's what was ticking Naruto off at the moment: not only was Uchiha Sasuke a whooping 14 levels higher than him, it also passed the limit of civilians!

"Did he perhaps take the Genin test in secret without the rest of us knowing? The instructors are always kissing up his ass." the boy mumbled angrily to himself.

"Oy baka Naruto, what are you muttering and staring at Sasuke-kun for?" yelled a pink haired girl and she raised her punch in the air to hit him.

Her fist was just about to hit his head when the world suddenly went still again. All the students in the class looked as though they had been petrified and everything turned a dull grey in colour.

A red window popped up in front of his eyes:

 **ABSOLUTE CHOICE**

 **[1] Slap Haruno Sakura back as hard as you can.  
** **[2] Kiss Uchiha Sasuke.**

Similarly, just like the day before, two red panels appeared after that, with details about each option:

 **[1] Slap Haruno Sakura back as hard as you can.  
** _ **Consequences:  
**_ **\- Reputation increased with Shikamaru Nara, Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Sasuke  
** _ **Rewards:  
**_ **\- EXP: 300**

"How can I possibly do that? I like Sakura-chan!"

But when his eyes fell again on "Kiss Uchiha Sasuke" his face became green with disgust. He read the details on the second red window.

 **[2] Kiss Uchiha Sasuke  
** _ **Consequences:  
**_ **\- the player will be avoided by the entirety of the male student body at the Academy  
** **\- Reputation with Konoha will decrease.  
** **\- Reputation with Uchiha Sasuke will change from 'Neutral' to 'Hostile'.  
** _ **Rewards:  
**_ **-《Gay》: a title. Upon wearing it, men will become wary of interacting with the Player. The Player's reputation with the Land of Fire will decrease by 10%.  
**

Naruto knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but even for someone like him it was a no-brainer what he had to choose. Even so, he couldn't bear with hitting Sakura.

While he was struggling with what to choose, a red window popped in front of the him.

 **The player has 30 seconds left to make a choice. Unless a choice is made in time, the [System] will automatically choose the first option by default.**

"Gaaah! I don't want to do either!" Naruto yelled, rolling on the floor anxiously.

Thirty seconds passed and a red window appeared again:

 **Due to the player not having made a choice in the specified period of time, the [System] has automatically chosen the first option.**

Just as a new idea popped in Naruto's mind, as if it had been reading Naruto's thoughts the entire time, the [System] made another window appear in front of his eyes. It was a bright orange coloured one.

 **In case of failure to accomplish the task, the player will lose his willy.**

* * *

AN:

 _(I'm not an English native and I don't have a beta either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	3. Chapter 3 - Bitchslap

AN:

Red windows/panels - used for the [Absolute Choice] and other urgent messages related to it.

Green windows/panels - for announcing achievements like completing a quest or leveling up.

Blue windows/panels - others

"Hello" - normal talk

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Bitchslap**

Sakura's fist descended and hit Naruto on the head. Nobody bat an eyelid - it was a regular scene. Every time the pink-haired girl saw Naruto, she would yell at him and then punch him. And Naruto, like a meek puppy, would take any punishment she dished out on him.

But then, the sound of a loud slap was heard over all the noise in the classroom, and a girl was sent flying from the last row all the way to the front of the class!

A silence that they could hear each other breathing was instilled when the students' eyes fell on the unconscious form of the girl in front of the class. It was none other than Haruno Sakura. What stunned everyone was the red-violet palm that was imprinted on her cheek...

With robotic motions, the students all looked to the back of the class. There, similarly stunned, a blonde boy was looking at his own inflamed and trembling right hand in disbelief.

 _'Oh shit! Oh shit!'_ was what Naruto kept exclaiming in his mind.

He had not wanted to slap her that hard. Although the red panel from [Absolute Choice] specified for him to slap Sakura as hard as he could, Naruto had intended to just slap her lightly...

 _'It's not like the damned [System] would find out about that, right?'_ \- at least that's what he had thought back then.

But when the world regained its normal appearance, Naruto didn't understand what came over him. The pain of Sakura's fists was normally not enough to really hurt him. This time however, the pain was multiple times worse. Then, a feeling of anger seemingly out of his character took control over his body and he slapped her with a power he hadn't known he possessed.

Naruto looked at his trembling hand in stupefaction.

At the same time, once again, the world turned grey and still. A green window popped out in front of his eyes.

 **The task "[1] Slap Haruno Sakura back as hard as you can." has been completed.  
** **Congratulations!**

Then, two other windows, the first red and the second blue, appeared at the same time:

 **Consequences: reputation increased with Shikamaru Nara, Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Sasuke.  
** **Rewards:  
** **\- EXP: 30  
**

And, if that wasn't enough, one more panel popped out with the sound of a bell chiming. It was a blue one this time.

 **Due to his spectacular performance, the Player has acquired a new skill:  
** **[Bitchslap] - Active skill. There is a 50% chance for the slaps sent by the player to stun when used against bitches.  
** **Special effect: After using [Bitchslap], the fangirls will feel an instinctual fear of the Player.**

Naruto felt the blood rushing to his face. Stupid he may be - that he admitted - but even he wasn't stupid enough to not understand when he was being made fun of.

"Bastard! Are you mocking me? You're definitely mocking me! I'll slap the shit out you if I'll ever get my hand on you!" Naruto screamed in anger.

There was one small detail Naruto had not noticed in his anger. Alright, probably not that small...by the time he began to shout, the world had already come to life again...and each one of his screamed words and profanities was heard by everyone.

If Naruto had not cursed his bad luck before, he certainly did when an enraged yell was heard from the door.

"NARUTOOO!"

It was the instructor, Naruto's bane - Umino Iruka.

 _'Oh crap!'_

 _Scene break - 5 minutes later, inside the Hokage's office_

Tightly tied up with a rope, Naruto was forced on his knees by an angry Iruka.

"Naruto! Tell Hokage-sama exactly what you've done!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat up from his seat and walked in front of his desk, closer to the academy instructor and his unruly student.

"Iruka, what happened to get you so angry?" he asked, his voice as calm as always.

At the Hokage's question, Iruka-sensei looked as if oil had just been poured on a raging fire.

"OI, NARUTO! TELL HIM RIGHT NOW!" the chunin yelled and stamped his foot in anger.

Naruto, however, looked at the ground. How could he explain them that some strange windows of light were forcing him to do weird things? At the same time, he was getting incensed at hearing his sensei's continuous screams.

"Oi, don't you dare ignore me, you brat!" Iruka shouted again and his hand went forward, intending to push the boy's shoulder.

 _*crunch*_

"Gyaaah!"

With his sharper than average teeth, Naruto's jaws clamped on the unsuspecting older man's hand. It made a sound not unlike to that when a dog clamped its teeth.

"Aaargh! Let go! Let go you little shit!" Iruka screamed as if someone was cutting his flesh with a blade.

Naruto shook his head for a 'no', unknowingly almost tearing the skin on Iruka's hand.

Iruka was getting desperate. Naruto's bite was shockingly powerful! He could get out by knocking the boy out, but he didn't want to hurt him either. He didn't know what to do. The instructor was saved from his impasse though when Sarutobi's hand chopped Naruto on the head.

"Itai!" Naruto squealed in pain and rolled on the floor like a dying pig, releasing Iruka from his pain. "What the hell, old man!" he whined.

But Naruto swallowed his screams when he felt an ominous presence behind him. When he turned his head, he saw it: Iruka's eyes were spewing fire.

"S-Sensei?" Naruto stuttered.

Then, he looked back at the Hokage, forcing his big blue eyes to water. It was the most formidable puppy eyes he had ever made in his entire life.

"Oji-san, I-I'm scared." He whimpered.

Just when Iruka conjured a bamboo bat seemingly out of nowhere and was about enact his revenge, the Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Ayyy...that's enough, both of you!" Sarutobi chastised. "Tell me what happened already, I don't have all day."

 _Scene break_

"Are you telling me that random windows of light appeared in front of your eyes today and yesterday and that they forced you to choose between burning down Mizuki's house and vandalizing the Hokage Monument, and between slapping Sakura back after hitting you and kissing Sasuke?"

The boy nodded, his face morphed into a cute expression of seriousness. The Hokage looked at Naruto with suspicious eyes.

"What proof do you have?"

"I... but I told you that when they appear nobody else can move at all!" Naruto yelled, his patience long since having reached its end.

"So there's no proof!" Iruka added rather gloatingly.

"Naruto-kun, are you sleeping properly? Do you have enough food?" the Hokage asked with concern.

The boy was thrown off by the seemingly out of the blue questions.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

But then, the boy's blue eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

"You think I'm crazy? Old man, I'm not crazy!"

"Naruto, that's not how you speak to the Hokage!" Iruka yelled for what seemed like the tenth time since they arrived at the Hokage's office.

But both Naruto and Sarutobi ignored the chunin. Naruto because he could care less about that and Sarutobi because a series of thoughts distracted him from the matter at hand.

A few moments passed in contemplation before the Hokage spoke:

"Naruto, from now, every day, at noon, you will go to my manor."

"What for?" the boy asked puzzled. Was this the old man's punishment? It looked a bit too light for him.

"Naruto, you want to become a shinobi, don't you?"

The boy nodded eagerly.

"Then, this is an order from the Hokage to his shinobi. And I, the Hokage, am giving you an order! From tomorrow onward, every day you will go to my manor and eat the food you are given. Do you understand that?"

"H-Hai!"

Naruto was baffled. What kind of punishment was that? Well, free food was always welcome.

 _'Wait...maybe the food is so bad that even dogs can't eat it, so my punishment is to eat it instead?'_

The boy's complexion became green, making the Hokage even more certain that Naruto was ill from the lack of nutrition and care. The old shinobi planned on rectifying that. Even if leading the village took his entire day, he wouldn't neglect the Fourth's boy ever again.

* * *

AN:

 _(No beta and I'm not an English native either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made)_


	4. Chapter 4 - Mizuki

AN:

Red panels - used for the [Absolute Choice] and other urgent messages related to it.  
Green panels - for achievements like completing a quest or leveling up.  
Blue panels - others

"Hello" - normal talking

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Mizuki**

It was well past the middle of the night. There were no clouds at all in the sky, the moon bathing the entire village with its silvery light. It was a peaceful sight, seemingly out of a fairy tale, especially if one were to watch it from atop the Hokage Monument.

A few months passed since the day when Naruto slapped Sakura into unconsciousness. Several things have changed since that day and that was one of the reasons why Naruto was currently atop the Hokage Monument, silently contemplating his life instead of sleeping like everyone else.

Suddenly, a blue, translucent panel was popped up in front of his eyes,

 **《The Jinchuuriki》  
** **Lvl 23 Uzumaki Naruto**

He grit his teeth when he looked at the panel.

 _'I've been working so hard...'_

Ever since he slapped Haruno Sakura, the girl has never dared to even look at him in the eyes anymore, always avoiding him. To Naruto, that had been worse than her rejecting him. But with her acting like that around him, he couldn't find it in himself to ask her out anymore. Even with how stubborn he was, Naruto had understood that he would no longer have even a silver of chance at ever wooing her.

Therefore, with nobody distracting his mind like Sakura used to do every day, Naruto buried himself in his training more and more every day. Instead of stalking Sakura around and begging her to go out with him, he trained his aim with shurikens and kunais. Instead of agonizing every day about how Sakura liked Sasuke instead of him, Naruto invested his attention into trying to learn the theory Iruka-sensei was teaching at the Academy.

His grades didn't leap up spectacularly in the past few months, but he no longer was the dead last.

Another blue window popped up in front of him:

 **Passive skills:**

 **Taijutsu: Lvl 2**  
 **Shurikenjutsu: Lvl 2**  
 **Stealth: Lvl 5**

From the [System]'s FAQ Naruto knew that, generally, the skills' levels varied from 1 to 10:

Lvl 1-3: genins and civilians  
Lvl 4-6: chunins  
Lvl 7-9: jounins  
Lvl 10: kages

Apart from not having an explanation for his Stealth skill that seemed to belong to a chunin, with the hard work during the past few months, Naruto's hand to hand combat skill and his shurikenjutsu reached the middle of the genin stage - all this while he was still a student, a civilian.

 _'I've worked my ass off every_ _day!_ _I've_ _often trained even during night! Yet...'_

"Why?" he asked himself in a whisper.

Naruto never cried. He had learned from a very frail age that he had to stay strong. That's why he had always been smiling despite having been ostracized for his entire life. But now, unknowingly, a lone tear fell from his eye.

It was the 3rd time he failed the Genin exam. He had not been put down too much by the first two failures... but now it was different. He had actually worked so hard for this! He had trained himself to the bone for months! He had even stopped ditching the theory classes and began paying attention to Iruka's lectures. And it wasn't all for naught: although with a low grade, he passed the written exam. He passed with flying colours the obstacle circuit, coming 3rd place after Uchiha Sasuke and - surprisingly for him - Hyuuga Hinata. He also got above average marks for the Bukijutsu exam, managing to hit all the motionless targets in the bullseye and over 70% of the moving targets.

Naruto could still recall how Iruka's face radiated with happiness at his results and how much pride he, himself, felt at his outstanding evolution: from dead last to above the average... yet, when the final exam came...he failed. He had not been able to create a single clone.

More hot tears poured from his eyes as frustration boiled inside of him.

"I've worked so hard, dammit!" he shouted, breaking the serene silence of the night.

It was then that a rustle was heard from the nearby bushes. The boy quickly wiped his face with the sleeve of his blouse and jumped up to his feet:

"Who's there?"

A silhouette appeared from the foliage, its face becoming recognizable for the boy when it stepped into the moonlight.

"Mizuki-sensei? What are you doing here at this hour?"

"That's what I should be asking you, Naruto." the man said with his ever smiling face.

Mizuki went close to the edge of the Hokage Monument and sat down, patting the ground next to him:

"Come, tell me why were you crying."

Naruto sat down next to him not speaking.

"You know," Mizuki broke the silence "Iruka and I have noticed how much you have improved as of late...we both think that it was rather unfair for you to fail only because of a mere bunshin. Therefore, we went to Hokage-sama with your case...and we managed to get you a second chance."

Naruto visibly perked up and looked at Mizuki surprised.

Pleased with the effects his words had had on Naruto, Mizuki smiled and handed Naruto a scroll.

"This is just like a mission that shinobi do. If you managed to accomplish it, Hokage-sama had declared that you would be worthy of becoming a Genin. But if you fail, you will not be allowed to try to become a ninja ever again."

Mizuki flashed a rather sinister smile:

"So what do you say? Do you have the guts to accept it, or not?"

Like it happened for so many times before, the world went still. The colour was sucked out of everything, only the panel that appeared in front of his eyes glowing in a bright red light.

 **Absolute Choice**

 **[1] Accept the mission.  
** **[2] Reject the mission.**

Following that, 2 other windows popped up at the same time next to each other.

 **[1] Accept the mission  
** _ **Consequences:  
**_ **\- high risk of getting killed  
** _ **Rewards:  
**_ **\- Exp: 2000** **  
** **\- increased possibility of becoming a Genin**

 **[2] Reject the mission  
** _ **Consequences:  
**_ **\- lose the chance to ever become a Genin  
** _ **Rewards:  
**_ **\- Exp: 100**

Just as he finished reading the 2 panels, another red window popped up:

 **The player has 30 seconds left to make a choice. Unless a choice is made in time, the [System] will automatically choose the first option by default.**

Irritation came over Naruto. He didn't care about this countdown when the [Absolute Choice] made him choose between trivial things like stealing an apple and stealing an orange. But now, he had to make a decision that would seriously change his entire life - and that, in only 30 seconds!

His eyes quickly roamed over the 2 red panels a few more times.

 _'High risk of getting killed?!'_

 _'What the heck, I haven't even read what is the mission about, how can I plunge head first into something when I could get killed?!'_

Having played this decision-making 'game' for the past few months has certainly made Naruto more aware of how important it was to know and think about everything before deciding something. That it wasn't to be taken lightly.

But then, his eyes fell again on the [Consequences] of choosing the second option: he would forever be a civilian, his dream of becoming a Hokage always remaining just that: a dream. He felt a node in his neck at what he was about to do. Almost choking, he said, just as the time was about to end:

"I accept the mission."

When his words ended, the world returned to its original appearance. Now that he found out that there was a possibility of him dying during this mission, Naruto could notice how different was Mizuki's smile from how it was normally. Even with how slow to uptake he was sometimes, Naruto could feel that something fishy was going on.

But alas, it was too late to change anything, he had to go with it anyway. The [System] would make sure of that.

"I will do it." Naruto said.

"Good boy." Mizuki grinned. "You have 2 hours to complete the mission. Iruka and I will be waiting you at the outskirts of the Forest of Death." And with puff of smoke, he was gone.

Naruto unfurled the scroll open, his hands trembling in anxiety.

 _Mission: Steal a scroll and deliver it to the client.  
_ _Location: the room next to the Hokage's office in the Hokage's tower.  
_ _Location of delivery: at the outskirts of the Forest of Death.  
_ _Prerequisite: employ secrecy. In case of being discovered, the mission is failed._

Mizuki went to the trouble of even making the scroll sound like an official document the Hokage would write.

Naruto clenched his fist in determination. He was not going to fail this no matter what.

 _Scene break_

 _'These masked shinobi gotta be pretty lax if they couldn't spot me at all...or maybe they figuratively closed their eyes in order to let me pass this exam?'_

Naruto was a bit confused. Unlike a few months before, when the [System] just appeared in his life, nowadays, he was very familiar with it and understood its perks and concepts. And he knew very well what someone's level said about that person.

All the masked shinobi that were guarding the Hokage tower were above Lvl 70, with the highest being Lvl 79. Reviewing the information about the levels, Naruto said to himself.

' _From 1-25 are included civilians and Academy students;  
26-40 genins;  
41-60 chunins;  
61-80 jounins;  
80-90 kages... that means that they were elites among jounins, with the strongest of them being almost near the kage's level range...'_

In the following months after the [System] appeared in his life, Naruto spent quite a lot of time looking at people's levels in the village and classifying them. For example, the Hokage was not Lvl 100 how he believed when he stumbled upon the existence of levels for the first time - Sarutobi Hiruzen was "only" lvl 89.

On the other hand, Naruto was also dejected to learn that most of their senseis at the Academy were only chunins and rather low skilled at that, Iruka himself included given that none of them were above Lvl 50.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he thought:

 _'Mizuki-sensei is Lvl 53 though.'_

Glancing at the large scroll in his arms, Naruto made again a double take at how he had been able to slip by those Lvl 70+ masked shinobi without them detecting him.

But then, curiosity got the better of him. Everyone would be curious to see what was written in such a large scroll.

A small blue window popped up in front of his eyes, displaying the time.

"So only 20 minutes passed, huh?"

He had well over an hour until the deadline. With that thought in mind, instead of going directly to the outskirts of the Forest of Death, he stopped in one of the nearby clusters of trees that were part of the forest that surrounded Konoha.

When he unfurled the large scroll over a dozen of blue windows popped up at the same time:

 **A new skill is available to learn: Kage Bunshin. Would you like to learn it?**  
 **[1] Yes**  
 **[2] No**

 **A new skill is available to learn: Hari Jizo. Would you like to learn it?  
** **[1] Yes  
** **[2] No**

 **A new skill is available to learn: Kuchiyose. Would you like to learn it?  
** **[1] Yes  
** **[2] No**

 **A new skill is available to learn: Rasengan. Would you like to learn it?  
** **[1] Yes  
** **[2] No**

 **A new skill is available to learn: Hiraishin. Would you like to learn it?  
** **[1] Yes  
** **[2] No**

.

.

.

 **A new skill is available to learn: Edo Tensei. Would you like to learn it?  
** **[1] Yes  
** **[2] No**

Naruto could not believe his eyes.

"So many awesome jutsu!" He cried out gushing with excitement.

He didn't think twice before taping with his index finger on all the panels on the [Yes] option.

What Naruto had not realized was that choosing to learn so many techniques meant having all the information about them suddenly dumped into his brain...and that that scroll was not so large only for the looks but because of how much information was written in it.

That being said, when the blue panels disappeared, it was like someone had slammed an iron bar into his head. A terrible headache suddenly assaulted him and the pain had been so acute that he blacked out.

 _Scene break_

He did not know how much time passed, but when his consciousness returned, what met his eyes was not the green foliage of the forest but the dark and murky walls of what looked like the basement of an abandoned factory.

Only a few seconds passed since he opened his eyes when a deep and dark rumble echoed:

 **"Guess who decided to finally pay me a visit..."**

* * *

AN: There is a major difference between learning about something and mastering said thing. So if you are worried that Naruto will become Rikudo the Second overnight, don't. Naruto only got the information. It's like the process of getting a game on your computer: Naruto only downloaded the files. He had not installed the game yet. That said, he only knows the theory of those techniques, it will take a long time for Naruto to master them. He will need to train just as hard as the others.

 _(No beta and I'm not an English native either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	5. Chapter 5 - Demon

AN:

Red panels - used for the [Absolute Choice] and other urgent messages related to it.  
Green panels - for achievements like completing a quest or levelling up.  
Blue panels - others.

"Hello" - normal talking

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Demon**

A feeling of terror took over him when that deep, demonic-like voice rumbled.

Instinctively, his body started to move. He was in a tunnel, at the end of it. A dead end. Therefore, there was only one way where he could go. It was like his body was on autopilot - it was taking him to the source of the voice without him actively controlling it.

Eventually, he reached the end of the tunnel. A much larger room came into his view. Two enormous gates stood in front of him, the light of the room seemingly unable to pass through the bars. There was only darkness beyond.

 **"What? Not even a hello to the one who has been living with you for the past 13 years?"** the voice spoke again, dripping with malice.

"W-Who are you?"

The voice did not reply to him. Mustering up more of his courage, Naruto asked:

"Where is this place? How did I get here?!"

Forgetting for a moment how terrified he had been just a few moments before, he got distracted by the large gates in front of him.

"Is...is this a prison? Did they really throw me in prison for stealing that stupid scroll?"

Something between a wail and scream of frustration came from Naruto.

"Aaargh! I knew it! I just knew that that bastard of a sensei looked shady as heck when he gave me this mission!" Naruto complained, tugging at his hair with both of his hands.

For half a year, the [System] had, for quite a few times, made him choose between doing something random or burning down Mizuki's house.

Of course, Naruto, like the innocent boy he was, had never even considered taking that option seriously. However, after seeing it appear for so many times, even someone as dense as him started to inadvertently get suspicious deep inside. He didn't have the smallest idea what was the [System]'s origin or purpose but, to him, it looked like the [System] was considering Mizuki as one of his enemies even though the man had always been nothing but nice to him. Consequently, in his current situation, he was starting to reconsider his initial thoughts in regards to Mizuki and the [System]'s evaluation of him.

Suddenly a terrifying roar exploded from behind the gates, the shockwaves it generated blowing Naruto off his feet and hurling him into the distance.

 **"You dare to ignore me, brat?"** the demonic voice roared. The enraged visage of a gigantic fox appeared as a colossal body stepped out from the shadows.

Naruto wanted to run away. He wanted to scream. But his body was not listening to him. Soaking wet and shaking in horror, he was laying in the ankle-deep water that flooded the floor. He was like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The boy had never experienced such malice before in his entire life. He had never felt such a suffocating killing intent, such an overwhelming hatred. He wanted to get away. He wanted to escape, no matter the costs, even if he had to die in order to do so.

Just when Naruto was about to reach the point of breaking, the small peace of paper that looked like it was holding the two enormous gates closed suddenly glowed with a golden light - light which proceeded to coat the gates as well, every inch of them, till the very last bar.

The suffocating pressure coming from the colossal being was suddenly lifted from Naruto and its horrifying killing intent disappeared. It was as though he had been choking because when he was freed from the beast's coercion, he started to cough desperately, even tears coming out of his eyes involuntarily. Although fearfully, he lifted his eyes to look at the enormous beast. It appeared like it was roaring and clawing at the gates in a maddening rage but the golden light that encased the bars made it so no sound or other influence be able to slip past the gates, effectively protecting Naruto from any harm.

 _Scene break_

He woke up screaming. Terror was still present in his heart to the point where it was painful. His two small hands were clutching tightly at his chest as he tried to regulate his erratic breathing. What he had just experienced had been, by far, the most terrifying nightmare he had ever had. He felt like he had just brushed infinitely close past his death.

What Naruto didn't know was that the scream he had let out after regaining his consciousness had alerted more than 1 person.

"So this is where you have been hiding all along, heh? NARUTO!" someone yelled angrily when he jumped down from one of the surrounding trees. It was a man in his late 20s, with long hair that was tied in a messy pony tail. The large scar on his face made it easy for anyone to recognize his identity - it was one of the Academy instructors, Umino Iruko.

Naruto jumped to his feet startled when Iruka's scream made him snap out of his lethargic state.

Iruka was just about to say something when a large shuriken collided against his back out of nowhere. The man screamed in pain as he was flung to the ground by the strength behind the large shuriken's throw.

"Naruto... take... take the scroll... run." the chunin wheezed out as blood came gushing out of his mouth.

"RUN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE, BAKAYARO!"

Jolting to his senses, Naruto hurriedly rolled the large scroll that until then had been sprawled on the ground and broke into a desperate run.

 _'Why is this happening? Why are all these things happening to me, damnit!'_ Naruto internally screamed as he jumped from a branch of a tree to another as fast as he could.

He was still in mid-air, during a jump, when the world suddenly went still. Everything around him become grey and a translucent panel glowing in a glaring red colour appeared in front of him.

 **ABSOLUTE CHOICE**

 **[1] Kill Mizuki.  
** **[2] Run away.**

Subsequently, another two red coloured windows popped up:

 **[1] Kill Mizuki  
** ** _Consequences_ :  
** **\- saving Umino Iruka's life  
** **\- 90% chance of dying in the process  
** ** _Rewards_ :  
** **\- Exp: 2000**

 **[2] Run away  
** ** _Consequences_ :  
** **\- safety insured  
** **\- Umino Iruka will die  
** **\- Mizuki will escape  
** ** _Rewards_ :  
** **\- Exp: 300**

Right after he finished reading the yellow panels, another panel appeared:

 **The player has 30 seconds left to make a choice. Unless a choice is made in time, the [System] will automatically choose the first option by default.**

30...

29...

28...

A fierce internal battle was happening in Naruto's already flustered heart. Too many abnormal things happened to him in the past hour. He was sucked into an unknown place where he almost got killed by an enormous beast, he found out that he was tricked by someone who betrayed the village, he saw his sensei get fatally wounded and, to top it all, he was now given 2 choices: either let his sensei die or try to kill his attacker in order to save Iruka's life.

27...

26...

25...

His eyes fell again on the [90% chance of dying in the process].

Naruto admitted it to himself that he was not too good at maths but even he understood what that percentage meant. That his death was all but assured.

On the other hand, if he ran away, his sensei would die. Umino Iruka who, despite how annoying he could be at times, was one of the only 4 or so people that have ever showed him kindness. One of the only people whom he had never seen to look at him in hate or whisper behind his back "demon".

24...

23...

22...

"Demon..." the boy whispered to himself, his voice quivering.

His mind went to the enormous beast that almost killed him in his nightmare despite being locked behind those gates. The incident was still extremely fresh in his mind...and now, upon remembering, he was finally noticing the details about the beast's appearance... it was orange-red... it was a gigantic fox... a nine tailed fox.

21...

20...

19...

He recalled the demon's words - **_"What? Not even a hello to the one who has been living with you for the past 13 years?"_**

Realization finally hit him - that somehow, the beast was still living inside of him. That Yondaime could not kill it. There was no other explanation to how he could meet the demon. And he could not believe that it had been merely a nightmare. The feeling of being 2 seconds away from death had been too realistic for everything to be just a product of his imagination.

"Kyuubi no Yoko."

18...

17...

16...

 _'That's why everyone hates me... that's why they all call me demon behind my back.'_

Hot tears started pour from his eyes uncontrollably.

"But I am not a demon! I am not that monster!" he cried.

15...

14...

13...

 _'How can I be the demon if the demon just tried to kill me? I am not a demon!'_

 _'...I am not a demon!'_

12...

 _'I'm not a demon!'_

11...

10...

9...

He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and his face showed a strong determination.

"I'm not a demon..."

"I'll prove it!"

"I won't let Iruka-sensei die... I will save Iruka-sensei even at the cost of my own life."

8...

7...

6...

He was afraid. Knowing that he would fight someone who outmatched him in nearly every aspect and that he will most likely die...who wouldn't be afraid? But, despite that, he decided to go nonetheless. He wanted to prove it to himself that he wasn't a demon. Because he was sure that a demon would never be willing sacrifice himself to save someone else.

He stopped hesitating.

"I choose the first."

 _Scene break_

"So you finally noticed, huh? Oh well, you're still as dumb as ever. Who in his right mind would believe that it's a legitimate thing to steal the Scroll of Seals?"

"Wahahaha!"

Now that things evolved to the current stage, Mizuki no longer bothered with hiding his true self. An expression full of malice was on his face when he said:

"Now, hand me the scroll, demon."

Appearing frightened, Naruto threw the large scroll at the chunin. While the scroll was still in mid-air, for a moment, Mizuki's view of Naruto was blocked... It was in that split of second that Naruto attacked!

A kunai swished through the air, at a surprisingly high speed, burying itself into the chunin's stomach...only for Mizuki's body to disappear in a puff of smoke, a log replacing it. And before Naruto could even react, a heavy kick landed on his spine. The boy was sent hurling through the air, finally stopping after a few tens of feet by violently clashing into the trunk of a tree.

His entire body in agony, Naruto tried to lift himself up. Blood was now flowing freely from the open wound that on his head that resulted from hitting the tree. He felt blood rushing through his throat and he was about to throw it up when a large hand wrapped around his neck.

"You seriously thought that a useless twerp like you had any chance against someone like me?"

Lifting the boy by his neck, Mizuki slammed him into the ground and then threw him away as though he was dirty rag. The chunin watched in sadistic satisfaction how the boy's bloodied and battered body landed by the river, smearing the rocky riverbank with his blood.

Laying in a pool of his own blood, Naruto was waiting for death to claim him.

 _'So this it, huh? I'm going to die...'_

Unlike many others in their last moments, Naruto was not afraid. Could death possibly be any worse than the life he had had until then?

His normally blue eyes lost their glow. His eyelids were about to close.

In his final moments, no resentment could be found in his heart. No hate for the ones that had made his life miserable ever since he was little. No hate even for the one that was killing him now. His only thought was:

 _'Nobody will miss me anyway.'_

Naruto didn't know that while he was about to peacefully accept his death, the demon inside his gut was desperately striking against the gates that were keeping him locked. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had been trying with all of his might to flood Naruto's body with his chakra, to help him survive. But the golden glow that had cut off his influence on Naruto a few minutes before, was still encasing the gates, indiscriminately blocking out Kyuubi's chakra, even if he was trying to help him.

Right as he was about to die, a desperate shout reached his ears:

"Don't you dare to die on me, Naruto!"

Bleeding profusely from his back and clearly on his last legs, it was Umino Iruka that had shouted.

"Oh, you're still alive Iruka?" Mizuki asked mockingly.

Breathing laboriously, Iruka drew out a kunai from the pouch strapped to his thigh.

"I won't let you kill Naruto... I won't let you hurt him any further!"

A forced laughter came from the grey-haired chunin.

"You won't let me?"

His laughter stopped, a scowl marring his face now.

"And what can a dead man possibly do to stop me, HUH?" Mizuki screamed as he appeared with a shunshin behind Iruka and punched him in the large, open wound on his back.

The wounded chunin screamed in agony when he fell to the ground and Mizuki started to stomp with his foot on his back, digging his heel into the large shuriken wound.

"As if I'd need someone like you to let me have my way!"

"Why are you even trying to protect him? He's the demon that killed your parents!" Mizuki yelled outraged.

Through the pain that was wrecking his body, Iruka barely gasped out:

"Naruto... is not a demon... he... he is my precious student."

Mizuki's body froze. Then, as though he had just gotten an amazing idea, his face was lighted up by a sinister grin.

"Hoo~ is that so? ...Then, I should let you watch me how I kill this precious student of yours."

As Mizuki started to walk towards the prone form of the boy, unnoticed by him, Naruto's fingers twitched.

Through the darkness that had started to pervade his mind, Iruka's words reverberated in an infinite loop.

 _"Naruto... is not a demon... he... he is my precious student."_

Traces of blood were left on the white rocks from the riverside as Naruto's fingers clenched into a fist.

"You still can move? No wonder you're a demon. Demons are nothing if not resilient." Mizuki said and laughed out loud. He grabbed Naruto by the neck with one hand and a took out a kunai with the other. Turning towards Iruka, he yelled in sadistic glee:

"Watch me, Iruka! Watch me as I kill the demon!"

 _Scene break_

In the meantime, Naruto struggled to regain control of his body.

 _'Kami-sama... I don't care if I die... No... it's alright for me to die...'_

 _'But before that... just... just let me save my sensei...'_

Iruka was the only one that has truly ever acknowledged him. Naruto didn't want to let him die. He felt like that was the only thing he could do to repay his kindness.

"Watch me, Iruka! Watch me as I kill the demon!"

Just as Mizuki's words finished, a blue window popped up in Naruto's mind.

 **Due to his unrelenting will while being on the brink of death, the player has acquired a new skill:  
** **  
[Cheat Death] - Passive skill. While on the brink of death, the player will become able to surpass his limits.  
** _ **Special effects:  
**_ **\- immunity to pain  
** **\- all stats are doubled  
** **\- stamina and chakra are replenished  
** ** _Restriction_ : the skill will last for only 1 minute. The player will suffer severe backlash at end of it.**

Just as his brain finished processing the information written on the blue panel, Naruto felt his full strength returning to him. No, it wasn't just that. He felt much stronger than ever before and the agonizing pain coming from the numerous wounds that riddled his body had disappeared.

From the moment when Mizuki's words ended until Naruto regained his strength, not even 1 second passed. While still being held in the air, by the neck, blood suddenly burst from Naruto's mouth, spraying Mizuki all over his face. The chunin involuntarily yelled in a mix of surprise, disgust and pain at the blood that was sprayed all over his face, getting even into his eyes.

Mizuki had just finished wiping the blood off his face when a tremendous hit clashed against his cheek. A sound akin to a thunderclap was heard and the silver haired chunin was hurled into the air, crashing painfully into the rocks-littered ground by the riverside.

When Naruto looked at the steam coming from the violet, inflated palm of his right hand, a green panel popped up again in his mind.

 **[Bitchslap] successful. The enemy got stunned for 3 seconds.** **Due to the player's outstanding performance, the active skill [Bitchslap] has levelled up:  
** **  
[Bitchslap] Lvl 4 - Active skill. There is a 50% chance for the slaps sent by the player to stun when used against bitches.  
** _ **Special effect:  
**_ **\- stun duration increased to 4 seconds.**

Naruto had never thought that the skill that looked like the [System] had been poking fun at him would ever come in handy. But there was no time to ponder on it. He had 2 seconds left to act before the chunin would get a hold of himself. His eyes becoming like steel, Naruto quickly closed in the distance between him and Mizuki. Grabbing a rock with the size of a football, he violently slammed it into his head.

Blood burst from Mizuki's head, but Naruto did not stop. Straddling his chest, he continued to brutally slam the heavy rock into his enemy's skull with both hands, while screaming like a savage:

"I am not a demon!"

"I am not a demon!"

When he finally stopped, what was left of Mizuki was unrecognizable. A gory paste of blood and crushed bones was all that remained from his head.

Unbeknownst to him, in that moment, bathed in the fresh blood of his enemy and with his eyes shining with ferocity, Naruto looked just like a demon.

* * *

AN:

 _(No beta and I'm not an English native either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	6. Chapter 6 - The truth

AN: Some of you have asked me in reviews, some in PMs: why did Naruto not use the justus that he had learned from the Scroll of Seals in order to beat Mizuki?

For everyone that might be confused - I did say in the AN at the end of that chapter that Naruto merely received the information. I will say it again: Naruto doesn't automatically master a jutsu the moment he reads the information, like in normal gamer fics. He only stores it in his mind - like downloading a pdf file. To be able to use a jutsu, he has to train just as hard as everybody else. No shortcuts. In the current case, Naruto did not have any time to train any of those techniques from the Scroll of Seals because his brain was overloaded from too much intake of information and he lost his consciousness.

I hope it's clear enough this time. For any other questions you might have, don't hesitate to send me a pm or to review. Those that have asked me something before can attest that I tried my best to be helpful.

"Hello" - normal talking

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - The truth**

The window of the Hokage's office was suddenly slid open and someone climbed up his way inside.

A sigh came from the Third Hokage:

"Must you always use the window, Jiraiya? Why can't you use the door like normal people?"

The newcomer, a white-haired man in his mid 50s, laughed awkwardly.

"That aside, what have you called me back for? Your letter sounded urgent."

Sarutobi rose up from his chair.

"Follow me, please."

A few minutes later, Jiraiya and the Third Hokage arrived at their destination - Konoha's hospital. Soon enough, they stopped in front of a door that was being guarded by two ANBU operatives.

When they entered, the sight of a boy bandaged from head to toes appeared in front of their eyes. Wires were connecting him to various machines and blood was being inserted through a tube attached to the wrist of his right arm.

"Who...is this?" Jiraiya asked. Aside from the boy's blonde hair, nothing else could be recognized from his facial features.

"It's Naruto."

At his answer, it was as though Jiraiya became mute. Neither of them spoke after that, silence instilling in the room. Only the weak beeping of the machine monitoring his heartbeats could be heard.

"How did this happen?" Jiraiya whispered.

When Sarutobi kept silent, Jiraiya almost exploded:

"How did this happen, sensei?! You gave me your word every time that Naruto is being cared for - that's why I could stay away from the village for such long periods of time...how did he end up on his death bed?!"

The Sannin's voice was raised and anger was written on his face. It was unlike him to show this kind of expressions nor was it normal for him to speak to his sensei, the Hokage, using that tone.

But Sarutobi could not find in himself to care about such trivial things in that moments. He knew that the Toad Sage had all the rights to be furious. He knew that he had failed - he failed keeping Naruto safe.

Sandaime told Jiraiya about the events that had transpired 2 days before.

"Why is the Fox not healing his wounds? All the jinchuurikis have a formidable regenerating ability. Is there something wrong with the seal?" Jiraiya asked.

"I don't know."

"How come? With your expertise in seals you should be able to see it, you wouldn't need to wait for me."

"Unfortunately, his situation is too critical for us to force his chakra to course through his coils in order for the seal to show up." Sarutobi said and he handed Jiraiya a clipboard with Naruto's medical file.

Fractured vertebrae, skull fracture, broken arm, severe blood loss, massive bruises all over his face, neck and back, a collapsed lung, severe iron and calcium deficiency, damaged kidney... the more he read, the more Jiraiya's visage darkened.

But there were quite a few diagnostics that had nothing to do with the wounds he had received from Mizuki... how could have Jiraiya known the real reason behind Naruto's condition having gotten so miserable?

[Cheat Death] was a skill that when Naruto got on the verge of dying, it would squeeze out his body's potential to the extreme in order to offer him 1 minute in which he would be able to surpass his natural limits. A truly overpowered skill if one were to look only at the advantageous effects...what followed afterwards, though, made it look more like a suicidal skill. A skill that one would use as a last resort, to take his enemy to death together with him.

Truth being told, this skill would not have such heavy aftereffects on a jinchuuriki due to their bijuu's healing prowess. The problem with Naruto though was that inside his stomach, the golden light coming from his seal was still encasing the gates, completely isolating Kyuubi's chakra from Naruto. It was a glitch in the seal. Because of that, in the current moment, the sole reason for Naruto still being alive was his clan's hereditary vitality. If not for that, he would have died. Even so, the doctors were not giving him more than 2 weeks left.

"Sensei, I'm leaving." the Sannin said, his head lowered, making it impossible for Sarutobi to see his expression.

"Where are you going, Jiraiya?"

"There's no way I'm letting Minato's son die just like this...not after everything he had sacrificed for the sake of this village... I'm going to bring Tsunade-hime back."

"Jiraiya, you know we've tried so many times to bring her back yet she-"

"Sensei!" Jiraiya shouted.

Sarutobi sighed. He knew that there was no stopping Jiraiya in that moment. His former student was nothing if not stubborn. And Tsunade was probably the only person in the entire world that would be able to heal Naruto.

 _Scene break_

A blond-haired woman that appeared to be in her 30s was laying on the floor of the bedroom while mumbling incoherently to herself.

"This isn't good..."

"This isn't good..."

"This isn't...aaargh!"

The woman half yelled, feeling like wanting to pull her own hair out.

Sounds of hurried steps came from the hallway and the door of the bedroom was slid open.

"Tsunade-sama, what happened?!"

Appearing as if she was about to comically cry, the blonde woman looked at the newcomer with her doe-like watery eyes. It was completely unlike her normal self.

"Shizune-chaaan...I need a hug!" Tsunade begged pitifully.

The one called Shizune was a woman in her late 20s, with short black hair and black eyes. The usually bubbly woman was now massaging her forehead while looking at the one she was considering as her mother in all but blood.

"Tsunade-sama, have you been drinking again?"

Shizune sighed, but when she saw how pitiful the legendary medic looked in that moment, she couldn't find it in herself to become annoyed.

Taking a seat next to the drunk older woman, Shizune let herself be engulfed in the blonde's more than generous chest.

"Tsunade-sama, c-control your strength please!"

When the blonde loosened her bear-like grip on Sizune, the latter asked:

"What got you like this?

But then, the black-haired woman's eyes fell on the corner of the room. She nearly shrieked in panic at the sight:

"Tsunade-sama, where have you gotten that from?!"

Negligently thrown into a corner, there were 4 suitcases with blocks of ryo spilling everywhere. They easily amounted to a few good millions.

Still looking as though she was about to cry, Tsunade said:

"I had a winning streak at the casino today. Uuu...hug me more, Shizune-chan!"

When the younger woman heard her words, she sighed again. Now, it all clicked together. Taking the larger frame of Tsunade in her arms, Shizune softly rubbed her back, trying to console her.

If a stranger were to witness that scene, he would be completely befuddled: who in his right mind would get himself piss drunk and cry in sorrow for having won millions of ryo in one day?

However, for Tsunade, the feelings that came after winning a major gamble were just like that. That's because Tsunade never won - she didn't get the derogatory nickname "the Legendary Sucker" for nothing. However, once in a while, there were times when she would win... moments that were always followed by misfortune. Furthermore, another perk of having Tsunade's luck? The higher was the sum of money she won, the worse was the misfortune. Having won a few million ryo in one go had made her so depressed that she couldn't stop herself from making abuse of alcohol again. Of course that she knew that that was a superstition...However, so far, it had never been proven wrong.

Suddenly, as though the entire scene from before had been just a rouse, Tsunade jumped up to her feet.

"Shizune, gather the money and seal them in my personal scroll. Do it fast."

Her previously moe-like appearance held none of the drunk cuteness from before and nothing about her made you think that she had been acting like a dead-ass drunkard just a few moments before.

The black-haired woman was not surprised by the sudden change. After all, she knew very well just what her sensei was capable of - for her, instantly dispelling the alcohol in her system was not difficult at all.

Coincidentally or not, only a few seconds after Shizune finished sealing away the large amount money, a knock was heard in the door:

"Tsunade-hime? It's me, Jiraiya."

"What do you want from me this time around? "

The door was slid open, revealing the bulky silhouette of the Toad Sage. However, the two women were quick to notice the stark difference in his demeanour. There was none of his normal jovial mood and his usual, infectious smile was replaced by a straight, sombre expression.

"I need you to do me a favour. I need you to save someone's life."

Tsunade's supple eyebrows lifted a bit in slight surprise. She had not been expecting that. She had thought he was going to pester her again to return to the village. It would not be the first time he did that.

"So? Where is this person you want me to heal?"

"He's in Konoha-" Jiraiya began to say, only for Tsunade to abruptly cut him off.

"No!"

"Please, listen to me, hime-"

Tsunade was well known for not having a mild temper. And she was infamous for being one of those persons you would totally not want to anger. Hearing Jiraiya insisting on her coming to the village for what had to be more than the 10th time, she exploded:

"How many times I've told you I'm never coming back to that village?!" she yelled at him and her heel smashed into the floor of the room.

A large bang was heard and the entire floor crumbled like glass under the impact of her hit, eliciting screams of panic from all the people from below.

When he regained his balance, unfazed by her outburst, Jiraiya bit the tip of his thumb, making it bleed and his hands went through a flurry of seals:

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a plum of smoke, amidst the rubble, a toad of the size of an ox appeared.

"If you think you can take me back by force, old age must have gotten to your brain." Tsunade said, the veins in her arms bulging out at the amount of strength she was preparing to use. "Do not push me, Jiraiya!"

Looking as though he had not heard her words, Jiraiya turned with his back at her, facing his summon. The toad's mouth enlarged to an impossible to believe size and Jiraiya bent half of his body into its mouth. He grunted as though he was trying to lift something heavy and even put one foot on the toad's lower jaw in order to give himself more strength in pulling out whatever he had grabbed.

With a grunt of exertion, he finally achieved his purpose, falling back on the floor and nearly getting smashed by the immense thing that he had pull out. It was a very large chest, of about 2 cubic meters.

It would have made a funny scene for Tsunade had she not been so much on edge against him.

His breathing a bit ragged, the Toad Sage went to the chest and pushed open its lid. The two women's eyes widened in disbelief. The 2 cubic metres large chest was filled to the brim...with ryo!

Normally, in such a situation, the usual Jiraiya would have bragged about how popular his Icha-Icha series were or how much of a brilliant shinobi and businessman he was for having gathered such an immense fortune. However, the current Jiraiya's face revealed no smugness, no other emotion.

He simply bowed to almost 90 degrees and said pleadingly.

"Tsunade-hime...these are my entire life's savings. This is all I have and I will give it all to you. Just please, save-"

"No."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune, whom until then had been silent, couldn't help herself from speaking up. That amount of money was simply too ridiculous, you could even open your own bank with it.

Still, Tsunade was undaunted in her stance.

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya. The answer is still now. At the end of the day, money are not that important for me... I cannot be bought with money. You think I'm one of your cheap who-"

It was Tsunade's turn this time to not be able to finish her words when she saw what Jiraiya did: lowering himself to the floor, the Toad Sage let himself fall to his knees. Then, bending down, his forehead touched the rubble on the ground, his body in the humiliating posture of dogeza.

"I'm begging you, hime, save my godson!"

Tsunade did not know how to react. She was looking shocked at how far Jiraiya had been willing to go. She felt a node rising to her neck, making her almost unable to breathe.

"I-I'm sorry, Jiraiya! I can't. It's not only my hate for the village...I can't be a proper medic any longer... I'm sorry." she said, her own voice quivering.

"I know about your trauma, hime...but please, I'm begging you. Please!"

Jiraiya said, his face still pressed into the rubble on the floor.

"I won't leave this place until you give me an affirmative answer. I can't... I can't let it happen. I can't leave Minato and Kushina's son die."

"Naruto...he is just like your little brother."

Jiraiya knew that it was a low blow for Tsunade. But if he was willing to give away his entire lifetime's fortune and throw away his very pride and dignity by kneeling like a slave in front of her, he didn't care to what else he had to resort to in order to achieve his purpose.

At Jiraiya's words, Tsunade bit her lower lip. Tears started to fall from her eyes as flashes of Nawaki's and Dan's bloodied corpses appeared at the front of her mind. Even after decades, the emotional wounds left by their deaths was still as acute as before. And the trauma resulted from it, her fear of blood, only got worse with the passing of years.

"Naruto is just like him...he also wants to become a Hokage...but he is on his death bed now. He was willing to sacrifice himself in order to save his sensei's life and stop a traitor from stealing the Scroll of Seals..."

"I'm begging you, Tsunade. Don't let him die..."

 _Scene break_

A dimly lit corridor, with pipes stretching along the walls everywhere. Water flooded the floor up to his ankles and a foreboding feeling loomed. Naruto could easily recognize the place.

For a long time, he didn't dare to move from his spot. He knew that the gigantic beast was locked behind the 2 gates but, despite that, last time it did nothing to stop it from nearly killing him.

He stood alone, in the dimly lit corridor.

In there, there was no sun, no wind, no sky...there was nothing he could rely on to determine the passing of time. It was to the point where he didn't for how long he had been in there. For days? For weeks?

He didn't know. He only knew that it felt like he had been staying there since forever. And loneliness was starting grow on him...

When he couldn't bear with being alone anymore, he wondered - why is he not dying? Why is he is still in that place? He was naturally apprehensive at the thought of dying but as the feeling of loneliness grew, that fear of unknown started to diminish. Eventually, he started to think that even dying would be better than living eternally in that darkness and loneliness.

A thought came to his mind:

 _'What if I go to see the demon?'_

In his desperation for companionship he no longer cared about whom he was going to talk to. He didn't care that there was a possibility of him dying under Kyuubi's killing intent if the golden light was no longer there. He just wanted to talk to someone. To not be alone anymore.

Slowly at first, but increasing in speed with each step, he started to walk along the corridor. Eventually, the sight of the gigantic gates met his eyes. And, just like after Kyuubi had tried to kill him, they were still coated in the golden light.

Approaching the enormous gates with no fear whatsoever, Naruto called out:

"Kyuubi? Are you there?"

However, he received no answer.

"I know you are there...do you want to talk?"

Again, only silence met his query.

"Oi, are you perhaps ignoring me?" Naruto asked again, noticing even himself how obnoxious he was being. A smirk appeared on his face.

"KYUUUUUBI!" he yelled, with both of his hands positioned like a trumpet around his mouth, trying to amplify his voice.

"Kyuubi?"

"Kyuuuubi?"

"OIIII, KYUUUUUUUBI!" Naruto continued to obnoxiously call him, yelling at the top of his lungs, his echoing voice being deafening even for himself.

Suddenly, an enormous fireball was hurled into the gates, from inside the cage, a screen of fire covering everything for a few moments. In its wake, a series of kanji made from flames remained in mid air.

Naruto read them slowly, one by one:

 **"SHUT...UP...YOU...LITTLE...PIECE...OF...SHIT!"**

The blood rushed to the boy's head when he finished reading the flaming words:

"Who are you calling a piece of shit you furry bastard?" Naruto screamed.

An enormous claw came from the darkness and slammed into the gates ferociously, making ripples appear on their surface.

Naruto jumped back, involuntarily yelling in fright.

The enormous fox stepped out of the darkness, a mocking smirk on its face at how Naruto reacted. The blonde felt his face flush - even he could understand the meaning behind the demon's smirk: - _'pussy'._

A fireball appeared in mid air as Kyuubi's clasped hands departed and the fire was manipulated to transform into kanji characters again:

 **"Shut up or I'll kill you."**

Naruto was not impressed.

"Tsk! You can't even hurt a fly now that you're caged!" the boy ridiculed.

Kyuubi looked as if he was roaring in anger but no sound from him could bypass the golden light that was coating the gates.

Eventually, the boy got tired of trying to annoy the fox when the latter started to ignore him. He simply sat down in the water, watching the enormous fox that was looking back at him with a peculiar look in its large eyes.

"Ne, Kyuubi." Naruto began after a while.

"Why am I still here? Why am I not dead already?"

A few long moments passed and Naruto thought that the fox was not going to answer him. But then, flaming letters started to appear in mid-air:

" **You're in a coma."**

"A coma? What's that?"

" **Your body is about to die but the doctors are keeping you alive."**

"I'm not sure what you really mean but it sounds awesome!"

A new column of flaming characters appeared:

" **The doctors can't keep you alive forever. You will die soon. But if you rip open the seal, I will survive."**

"Chet! You're trying to trick me!" Naruto accused.

" **I meant to say that you will survive."**

At first, Naruto did not notice Kyuubi's error but not that the fox pointed it out, he finally realized it and started to scream at him:

"Ha! I knew you were trying to trick me! But you can't fool me! You think I'm stupid!?

" **Yes."**

"Screw you, kitsune no baka!"

Although sounds could not be heard from Kyuubi, Naruto just knew he was being laughed at. The flaming letters that appeared next did nothing to change that opinion either:

 **"Dumbass."**

"If I'm a dumbass then what are you? A mountain sized demon getting sealed into a puny baby by just one man. Hahaha! Huehue!" Naruto laughed, with his palm beating the floor, splashing water everywhere.

 **"SHUT UP!"**

Naruto continued to laugh in glee at how easy it was to rile up the demon fox when he saw the 20 feet in height flaming letters. Clearly, Kyuubi was more than a little angry.

The boy rose up to his feet and approached the gates. He was so tiny in comparison to them that he could easily slip through, the bars themselves being even thicker than his own body. But of course, he didn't dare step into the cage.

New flaming characters were conjured in the air.

 **"Why are you bothering me?"**

Naruto scratched his neck awkwardly at the question.

"I...I was feeling lonely."

Neither Kyuubi nor Naruto said anything for a while. Eventually, the boy couldn't bear with silence anymore and, leaning on one of the bars of the cage, he asked:

"Ne, Kyuubi...why did you attack Konoha?"

Apparently, despite showing annoyance, the Kyuubi didn't truly mind having someone to converse with, even if it was done through an unconventional method - by conjuring flames in the shape of letters. Otherwise, he would not have responded.

 **"That's none of your damned business."**

"Heh? I heard you killed many people back then. You know, the reason why everyone hates me is that they think I'm you or something."

Naruto's voice was calm, as though he was discussing the weather, not the reason for his miserable life. Truth being told, he considered himself dead. Thanks to what Kyuubi told him, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he died and his consciousness would disappear from the sewer. He was no longer holding any particularly strong feelings of any kind related to his past and obviously, he no longer had any real fear of the demon locked behind the gates. He was going to die soon anyway, what was there to be afraid of anymore? Therefore, he asked without batting an eyelid:

"Are all the demons as cruel as you?"

 **"Naive whelp. You know nothing."**

Reading the flaming letters, Naruto insisted:

"Don't avoid the question!"

 **"You wouldn't understand. You're just a dumb brat."**

"Oi! I'm not dumb, ok?" he yelled. "How can I understand something if you don't explain it to me first?"

Naruto waited for a while until Kyuubi's next reply came. It was a lengthy one.

 **"You think I am cruel? Then what about humans? For thousands of years I watched your kind killing and betraying even their own family and enslaving others to their whims..."**

 **"I've been imprisoned for nearly 80 YEARS! Your village has been trying to use me as a weapon since its very first days! You think that 13 years ago I appeared in the middle of Konoha out of nowhere? You think that I simply rampaged like a mindless beast?"**

 **"You truly are nothing but a fool, just like all the humans before you."**

Naruto was left stumped for words.

 _'EIGHTY YEARS? Kami...that's a shinobi's entire life!'_ Naruto thought in disbelief. Then, his mind went to the latter part of Kyuubi's message. He had never thought about Kyuubi beyond the fact that he attacked the village. He knew nothing about him. Heck, he barely knew anything about Konoha itself as he had most of the time either ditched the History class or simply slept through it. He realized that Kyuubi's words about him being naive might not be that wrong...

Seeing no answer coming from Naruto, Kyuubi moulded the flames into another message:

 **"Let me enlighten you: it was a shinobi from Konoha that put me under a genjutsu to fight against the first Hokage – Uchiha Madara. But when he lost, I was weakened as well. It was easy for the First Hokage to capture me. I've been sealed in Konoha ever since..."**

" **Before being sealed inside of you, I was sealed in your mother."**

Naruto could not believe his eyes.

"M-My mother?!" he asked, not daring to believe "But Hokage-jiji told me that nobody knows who my parents were! If my mother had a demon sealed in her, people would have definitely known about it!"

Kyuubi was about to mould his flames for another message, his eyes glinting in glee at Naruto's distress. He was definitely going to take the chance to shake Naruto's devotion for Konoha. He didn't get to it, however, as Naruto, despite how slow he seemed to be most of the time, reached the same conclusion Kyuubi had wanted to lead him to, by himself.

"He...he lied to me."

Only an orphan could understand what Naruto was going through at that moment: he had always wanted to know who his parents were. Yet the Hokage had always told him that he didn't know their names. That he didn't know anything about them.

His eyes soon got flooded by tears.

"Why would Hokage-jiji lie to me?! Why?"

But then his eyes widened in surprise at the new thought that popped up in his mind. He shouted at the fox:

"How can I know it's not you the one that's lying?"

Kyuubi's answer came swiftly:

 **"Don't put me on the same line as your pathetic Hokage!"**

" **I'm not a human. I never lie."**

Another set of flaming characters were conjured:

 **"And you know what's the best part? That it was your own father that had sealed me in your body. Talk about humans going against their own family. The Yondaime turned his own son into a weapon for the village!**

" **Hahaha!"**

" **Hahahahahaha"**

 _Scene break_

Four assistants were standing close to an operation table, ready to help the doctor anytime, with whatever they would be asked to do. The patient was laid on his stomach, with his back exposed. The doctor, a woman with a generous bust, was holding a scalpel, about to cut into the flesh of the patient's back. However, when the scalpel's blade touched the skin, like it was normal, blood started to flow.

The woman retracted her hand which had suddenly started to shake terribly, along with her entire body. It was unthinkable for a surgeon to act like that in the middle of a surgery because one of the most important things in this field was to have very steady hands. Otherwise, one simple shake could lead to the patient's demise.

When they saw the woman shaking, 3 of the 4 assistants began to look at each other in worry. Operating on someone's spine was a very difficult and delicate task - it was in no way something that could be achieved by someone that was acting like the trembling doctor. The three of them shook their heads and left the operation room one after another. Before exiting, one of them said:

"Even if that boy may actually be the demon's reincarnation or something like that, I'm still not willing to have someone's death on my conscience. I'm sorry."

In the silence of the room, only the doctor's sobs could be heard.

The remaining assistant came to the trembling woman and took away the scalpel from her shaking hands, putting it to the side. Then, she grabbed the crying doctor from her shoulders gently.

"Tsunade-sama, get a hold of yourself!" she said, trying to make her snap out. But it was to no avail.

The assistant was none other than Shizune. Seeing to which level her mentor had fallen was making her heart ache. Her arms wrapped around Tsunade and she embraced her to to her chest tightly. Mustering all her courage, shs said:

"Kaa-san, please do not cry."

Tsunade's body became still. Her brown eyes, filled with tears, looked into Shizune's eyes that were starting to become wet as well.

"Kaa-san?" Tsunade whispered in wonder.

Shizune nodded, her own tears now trailing down her cheeks.

"Yes, you're my kaa-san. All these years you've cared for me just like a mother would for her own daughter. I've long since started to see you as my own mother."

"So don't cry."

"Do what you're the best at. You're Tsunade Senju! You are the best medic in the world. You're the person that I admire and respect the most!"

Although hesitatingly, Tsunade took the scalpel again. Her hand was no longer shaking. As to further encourage her and show her support for her, Shizune squeezed the doctor's free hand gently and said:

"Don't be afraid, I'm here, right next to you."

* * *

AN:

 _(No beta and I'm not an English native either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made)_


	7. Chapter 7 - Disillusioned

AN:

Red windows/panels - used for the [Absolute Choice] and other urgent messages related to it.  
Green windows/panels - for announcing achievements like completing a quest or leveling up.  
Blue windows/panels - others

"Hello" - normal talk

 _'Hello'_ \- thinking

* * *

 **Chapter 7 - Disillusioned**

"Tsunade-sama, he's awake!"

He could vaguely hear someone shouting and he could also feel the vibrations coming from the floor as several persons hurriedly entered his room. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a pair of soft brown eyes that were watching him with a mix of interest and slight worry. It was woman, with a beautiful face and blonde hair.

"How do you feel, Naruto?" the woman asked gently.

He tried to answer but only an intelligible sound was heard. His throat was dry and sore. He was not aware of it, but after Tsunade successfully performed all the surgeries, he had remained unconscious for nearly 1 week while his body was pumped with blood and vitamins.

"Shizune, bring me a bottle of water and a straw."

The woman in question gave Tsunade what she asked for right away - she had been expecting the current situation so she had prepared in advance. Tsunade guided the straw into his mouth and without needing to be told, Naruto started to drink the water greedily. In no time, he almost emptied the entire bottle.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes." Naruto replied. His voice was still hoarse but it was better than before.

Before Tsunade could tell him something else, Naruto asked:

"...Why am I alive?"

Tsunade looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Because Shizune-chan here and I have tried our hardest to save you." Tsunade explained gently.

"Ah...thank you..." Naruto mumbled unsure of whether he feeling thankful of not.

Tsunade slightly frowned at his half-hearted thanks. But then, she remembered just what he had been through. It had never occurred to her that the shock of finding out about the Kyuubi being sealed inside him would make him uncaring of whether he survived or not...

"Hokage-sama together with your godfather and your genin team are outside the room. Would you like to see them?"

Some questions popped up in his mind: what godfather? And was he already given a spot into a genin team? As for Sarutobi being there too, he recalled Kyuubi's words:

 _ **"And you know what's the best part? That it was your father that had sealed me in your body. Talk about humans going against their own family! The Yondaime turned his own son into a weapon for the village! Hahaha!"**_

Naruto thought bitterly:

 _'Jiji never really cared about me... from the start, I was just a weapon for the village.'_

Seeing him not giving her an answer, Tsunade sat up and made a sign to Shizune to follow her outside of the room. She sighed. Jiraiya had told her that Naruto was just like her brother and she had unconsciously expected to see a bundle of sunshine, forgetting that he had just went through a life-changing experience. Seeing the downcast look on his face made her realize her mistake.

 _Scene break - timeskip 2 days_

Early in the morning, when the nurse came for the daily routine check, she found the room where Naruto had been hospitalized empty.

Knowing how critical Naruto's situation had been until just a few days ago, it goes without saying how worried she became. Because medic-nins were not like the civilians and other ordinary shinobi; most of them were clearly aware of the fact that Naruto was just an unfortunate boy, not the Kyuubi's reincarnation or anything the like - that's why the 3 assistants refused to aid Tsunade in a surgery that they thought it was going to cause Naruto's death.

Hurriedly, the nurse ran to Tsunade's temporary office to inform her of the news - the Slug Sannin had yet to leave the village because she had decided to stay until Naruto made a full recovery.

 _Scene break_

"Kuso gaki! Don't ever let me catch you!" Tsunade cussed angrily to herself.

But, inwardly, she was dying with worry for Naruto. She had seen cases like his before - after receiving a heavy psychological blow, some shinobi committed suicide. They weren't very often but once in a while, something like that happened. Furthermore, Naruto was just a fresh genin, barely 13 years old. Tsunade was genuinely scared of the state she was going to find him in.

She jumped from the roof of building to another at a high speed as she followed an ANBU operative towards Naruto's apartment. When she got there, however...

"What...what is the meaning of this?!" Tsunade asked greatly disturbed.

The door of the small apartment had been broken to pieces and the windows rendered to nothing but a pile of wooden shards. Inside, the colour of the walls and the few pieces of furniture that Naruto owned were nearly unrecognizable after having been set on fire and half burned.

The news of Mizuki's betrayal had been made public. The villagers found out about Naruto's heroic sacrifice – for the sake of saving his sensei, he had fought against Mizuki to his dying breath. Thanks to that, many of them had felt deep in their hearts that their previous opinions about the boy have been wrong.

However, not all of them saw the above mentioned events in the same colours. Those bearing heavy grudges against him because of their relatives that had been killed by Kyuubi were quick to rejoice that Naruto was on his death bed. And, as the saying goes, it takes only a pebble to start an avalanche – it took only a random drunk to throw a stone into one of the windows of Naruto's apartment for many others to follow up like sheep. The end result? They vandalized the small apartment to the point where it would be better for him to sleep outside, in a bush, than inside of his own home.

 _Scene break_

"To think that the one I looked up at like a hero was my father...to think that my father would curse his own son like that..." Naruto said to himself.

He was on the edge of the Hokage monument. In the silence of the night, his silhouette seemed especially lonely.

Naruto let out a long sigh. He was at a loss of what to do. Getting closer to the edge, his eyes fell on the village. Silent and bathed in moonlight it looked so peaceful...

Suddenly, an almost desperate shout reached his ears:

"Naruto! Don't jump!"

Greatly startled, he realized that he was unconsciously inching closer and closer towards the edge. It was in that moment that the world went still and everything around him lost its colour. A glowing red window appeared in front of his eyes:

 **Absolute Choice  
** **  
[1] Jump  
** **[2] Don't jump**

To Naruto's surprise, it was the first time the [System] did not force him to hurry up in making a decision. Also, there was no explanation in regards to each choice's consequence and rewards. Furthermore, there was no panel announcing that he only had 30 seconds left, nor any countdown. It was because of all these oddities that he unconsciously, instead of immediately choosing what even someone like him considered a no-brainer - [2] Don't jump - (he had never thought of committing suicide) he began to seriously ponder on which option to choose.

As mentioned before, he had never thought about killing himself. Even in his darkest moments he had always tried to ignore his own suffering and hurt by mindlessly pursuing his goal. His mindset had been that once he became a shinobi his chance to become the Hokage would skyrocket. And once he became the Hokage, all his pain, all his loneliness and all of his suffering would be washed away.

But what about now?

He was completely disillusioned. The 4th Hokage, the one he used to worship as the greatest hero in his heart, was actually his father...a father that sacrificed his son for the sake of strangers. As for the 3rd Hokage, he had been lying to him since forever about something that Naruto considered as crucial. It was not hard to imagine how desperately he had wanted to know who his parents were, especially after he was chased out of the orphanage.

Naruto's used to have 2 role models - but in his eyes, they both proved to be despicable. And they were both Hokage. Naruto no longer wanted to have any kind of association with the title.

 _'Besides that, why would I want to become a Hokage? To protect the people that had burned down my house?'_

The more he thought about what happened to him, the more he was getting inclined towards choosing what he would have normally never even considered before – the first option, that of jumping off the cliff.

But then, he recalled Tsunade's words from 2 days ago - that his godfather had been waiting outside the room.

 _'Godfather? ...I'm not quite sure what does it mean but it has to be some sort of family, right?'_

 _'Then, if he was my family, where was he all these years?'_

 _'...Except for Iruka-sensei, nobody else will miss me anyway.'_

But in that moment, in his mind, Tsunade's pleading shout resounded again:

 _"Naruto! Don't jump!"_

He turned and looked at Tsunade's petrified form. She had been frozen while she was running and the expression on her face spoke volumes of how desperate she was to get to him in time.

"Why does she look so desperate? ...why is she even here at this hour?"

Then, almost unwilling to believe it, he asked himself:

"Did she perhaps come all over here just for me?"

Naruto's heart was moved. For a cursed child like him, this simple thing would be enough to give him a reason to keep on living. There was one more person in the world that looked like she would be sad if he were to live no more.

It was never really about him wanting to become a Hokage...Becoming the Hokages was simply the most certain way to accomplish his desire. And what hhe had always sought was for people to acknowledge him.

It was as though the [System] could read his heart because the world returned to normal without him saying anything. As if nothing special had happened in the first place, when things went back to how they were originally, Naruto turned towards the approaching Tsunade and asked:

"It's you, the pretty Doctor-san. Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

When she reached him, while breathing heavily, she grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him back from the edge quickly and with a bit more force than she had intended.

She caught her breath for a few moments before almost yelling at him:

"I've been looking for you everywhere! Why did you leave the hospital without checking out?!"

"I...I never liked hospitals." Naruto said sheepishly.

Tsunade realized that she might be scaring him. She breathed out deeply, forcing herself to calm down. Eventually, she said:

"Don't do that again, you hear me? Many people were worried about you!"

"Many?" Naruto asked. "I wish that was true. In this village there is only 1 person that _probably_ cares about me: Iruka-sensei. But even about him I'm not sure."

"That's not true, Naruto, there are many that-"

"That's a lie and you know it!" Naruto said, raising his voice. "After all they all...they all burned my house!"

After so many years of holding it in, today he couldn't suppress his feelings anymore. Too many horrible things happened to him in such a short span of time. Everyone had a limit and Naruto had reached his own as well - he was feeling too overwhelmed. Kneeling on the ground, tears began to pour like a river from his eyes as he cried his heart out.

"Since forever, I was always alone!"

"Nobody...Nobody would play with me and many...many times I would hear the parents of other children telling them to...to stay away from the demon!"

"Nobody ever cared! The senseis at the Academy always ignored me and even Iruka-sensei was never really nice...He only yelled at me every day!"

"Hokage-jiji has been lying to me for years and Iruka-sensei probably said I was his precious student just so I would not give Mizuki the Scroll of Seals!"

"I can't bear with it anymore... Nobody really cares about me...Nobody loves me...and they burned down my house! They all think I'm the Kyuubi but I'm not! Why... why?"

He started to repeat himself and at some point his words stopped making sense. He just cried and cried.

Tsunade was a strong woman but in that moment, she was having a difficult time struggling to stop her tears at his suffering.

 _'And I thought that I had it bad...but in comparison to his life, mine was that of a princess.'_

Compared to Naruto's plight, Tsunade was feeling as though her pain was more like a child's tantrum. He had always been alone and ostracized. Nobody to tuck him in at night. Nobody to feed him. Nobody to offer his shoulder to cry on. Nobody to show him affection.

Tsunade let out a shaky breath. She didn't want to break down in front of him. She wanted in that moment to give him what Naruto's heart desperately wanted – affection. She wanted to appear strong for him.

Kneeling next to Naruto, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his tiny frame into her ample bosom. She felt him stiffen, but she caressed the back of his head gently, just like a mother would caress her own son.

She whispered to him, her own voice thick with emotion:

"It's ok to cry, Naruto. Let it all out. I won't leave you alone. I...I will stay here with you."

And cry he did. It took a long while for him to stop. When he finally calmed down, he felt embarrassed and tried to extract himself from Tsunade's arms. But she didn't want to let him go. Instead, she sat in a more comfortable position and then she guided his body for him to lay with his head in her lap. Then, she took off her green haori and covered him with it - he was so small in comparison to her that it was just like a blanket for him.

Naruto didn't put too much of a fight. It was the first time in his life that someone embraced him. He had never felt so much warmth and affection from anyone ever before. He had never known the joy of being "mothered" like that.

"Doctor-nee-san...thank you!" Naruto said sincerely, his clear blue eyes gazing deeply into her own. Then, averting his eyes to the side, he muttered: "Nobody has ever been so nice to me.."

She didn't reply to him right away, merely continuing to gently caress his hair. But then, she said:

"My name is Tsunade. You can call me 'auntie'."

"A-Auntie? But you're not old, you're very beautiful!" Naruto exclaimed in wonder.

It was precisely that naive sincerity of his that made Tsunade laugh softly and lightly pinch his nose.

"I'm actually quite old for a kunoichi. I'm over 50 years old already."

The boy's mouth opened in disbelief.

"Then, you're a baa-chan!?"

The hand that had been caressing his head now had an urge to smack him to the moon and back. Controlling her knee-jerk-like impulse to slap him for calling her a grandma, she opted to use another route.

"Auntie is not used only for old women, Naruto. Usually, an aunt is the sister of your mother or your father."

Unexpectedly fast of him, in that moment, a connection was made in Naruto's mind.

"...Do you mean we are family?!" he whispered, afraid to actually hear an answer to his question.

"Um, you could say so... my grandmother was part of the same clan as your mother. That means that - although very distantly – I am somehow related to your mother and , through her, related to you as well." Tsunade explained.

Naruto face glowed with happiness in that moment and his hands clenched tighter on the Tsunade's green haori. He felt his eyes about leak tears again, but he made a superhuman effort to hold them back. He didn't want to ruin the mood.

"You knew my parents?" he asked eventually, his voice very hopeful.

"Of course I did. Your father-"

"I don't care about that bastard! I hate him!" Naruto said quickly. "Can you only tell me about my mother please?"

"How do you know about your parents?"

"Kyuubi told me who was my father...and that he was sealed inside of me by him."

 _'So he had already had his first contact with the bijuu.'_ Tsunade inwardly thought.

Regardless, she didn't rebuke him. In her opinion, Naruto had all the reasons in the world to hate his father. No decent father would ever curse his child like that. Therefore, she complied to his wishes.

"Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina-"

"Uzumaki? I'm so glad I was named after her!" He exclaimed.

"She was very kind and beautiful. Her hair was crimson red and so long that all the women all over the Elemental Nations were envious of her."

"Do you by chance have any picture of her?" Naruto asked, starts shining in his eyes.

"I don't have one myself, but there are some in Konoha's archives for sure. It would be no problem whatsoever for the Hokage to get a hold of them."

"...but that old geezer will surely refuse! He's been lying to me that he doesn't know my parents for years!" Naruto complained.

"Oh don't worry. He will not refuse it if I ask for them myself." Tsunade assured.

To prove her point, she picked up a nearby piece of rock and crushed it into powder with her hand, leaving Naruto wide-eyed.

 _'S-Scary!'_ Naruto thought in fright. He made a mental note to himself to never get on her bad side. He didn't want to imagine how would it feel to be on the receiving end that monstrous strength.

"Auntie Tsunade, you're so strong!" he exclaimed in awe.

Despite being a Sannin and used to being praised wherever she went, Tsunade felt oddly pleased at how impressed Naruto seemed to be of her.

"Damn right! I am not called the most powerful woman in the Elemental Nations for nothing!" she said haughtily.

As they chatted, eventually, tiredness caught up to Naruto. After that emotional outburst, he was spent. Wrapping Tsunade's haori tighter around himself, Naruto snuggled closer to her, rubbing his head on her thighs just like a cat would.

His home had been burned down...but he didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about tomorrow. In that moment he didn't want to think about anything. He only wanted to enjoy the warmth he had never felt in his life until then. He wanted to make sure he ingrained in his mind forever how it was to feel loved.

 _Scene break_

It was almost noon when Tsunade entered the room where Naruto was sleeping - she had brought him to her home last night after he fell asleep. She was watching him sleep with a gentle look in her eyes: Naruto was snoring softly all the while clutching Tsunade's Haori to his little chest with both of his hands - she had not been able to take it out of his hold the previous night.

Sensing Shizune coming behind her, Tsunade asked:

"Shizune, how would you feel about getting a dumb little brother?"

For a moment, Shizune was too startled to find her words. She almost shouted in disbelief:

"Tsunade-sama, you can't mean to...! The Hokage will also never allow Naruto to leave the village and follow us around."

"I know that, Shizune. I will remain in the Konoha from now on."

"Despite how you feel about this village you will stay here - just for him?!"

"Do you perhaps have something against me taking in Naruto?" Tsunade asked actually curious.

"Of course not...I just...I just want to make sure you taking him in is not only a whim! This isn't something that one can simply decide on overnight. We're talking about making a decision that would radically change not only your life, but his too. Especially his!" Shizune said scandalized.

"Don't worry. I'm really serious about this." Tsunade said categorically. ''I have pondered over it the entire night.''

"You have no idea what he has been through... last night, his house was burned down. I found him on top of the Hokage monument. He was on its very edge, looking as though he was going to jump down any moment then..."

Shizune covered her mouth with her hand at Tsunade's words.

"I had not had any chance to save my little brother. He died a meaningless death - and he was Naruto's age."

Tsunade sighed and her eyes fell again on Naruto's sleeping form, her hand going to coup his small face, softly tracing the birthmarks on his cheeks with her thumb.

"I don't want Naruto to die in vain, like Nawaki did. Especially not after what kind of life he had had..."

"I want to save this boy, Shizune."

* * *

AN:

 _(No beta and I'm not an English native either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	8. Chapter 8 - Failure

AN:

Red windows/panels - used for the [Absolute Choice] and other urgent messages related to it.  
Green windows/panels - for announcing achievements like completing a quest or leveling up.  
Blue windows/panels - others

"Hello" - normal talking

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - Failure**

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, how do you feel about someone like Naruto being assigned to our team?" a pink-haired girl asked her teammate.

The boy next to her, Uchiha Sasuke merely looked at her with a bland expression, just like usual. However, it seemed like she was used to being ignored seeing as she was not bothered in the least by not receiving an answer. She continued:

"I mean he is the dead last! He can't even make a bunshin."

Sasuke still looked as unimpressed as before. Even so, Sakura was nothing if not thick-skinned. She tried one more time to get a reaction out of her crush:

"Won't he drag us down?"

Starting to get annoyed how she was pestering him, Sasuke suddenly said:

"Sakura, can you beat him?"

Sakura was startled that he actually spoke to her. She could only reply unintelligently:

"Huh?! B-Beat whom?"

"Naruto. You are worried that he will drag us down. Are you better than him?"

Sakura's first intention was to immediately jump at the chance to boast a bit in front of Sasuke as her confidence got a considerable boost once she learned that their sensei was actually one of the most powerful jounin in the village. But then, a memory played at the front of her mind - and the pain felt as fresh as in the day when she had actually experienced it. She could never forget how Naruto literally knocked her out with just a slap.

"Can you beat him?" Sasuke insisted.

Sakura looked down to her feet.

"If you can't then shut up!"

Sakura almost started to cry at being rebuked so harshly by her idol. Still, she reigned in her tears, not wanting to show herself to him in a disgraceful manner.

Ten more minutes passed, with neither of them speaking a word. Eventually, a small gale of wind blew in the middle of the training ground and their sensei appeared with a shunshin in front of them. But Sasuke's and Sakura's eyes fell on the one that the jounin had brought along with him - Uzumaki Naruto.

One week passed since Senju Tsunade took Naruto in. And it was only after that period of time that she deemed Naruto to have recuperated 100%.

Their jounin sensei, Hatake Kakashi, led Naruto in front of his two other students and introduced him to them:

"I'm sure you know each other, but this is Uzumaki Naruto. Starting with today, he is your new teammate. Our cell is finally complete."

Sakura, forgetting her earlier depression, suddenly perked up:

"Sensei...does this mean that we can finally go on a real mission?"

At her words even Sasuke appeared to suddenly become more invigorated.

"Maa... who knows."

Sakura burst with indignation:

"You should know, you are our sensei! If you don't know then who in the world does?!"

"Well, going on a real mission or sticking to D-ranks, it will all depend on whether you will manage to pass the test I have prepared for you of not." Kakashi said.

"A test?!" both Sasuke and Sakura asked at the same time.

"Yep. But that's it for today. We won't have any missions nor training. Use this day to get to know each other better. Tomorrow at 8 o'clock sharp, meet me again here in training ground."

Without even leaving his students a chance to retort, a puff of smoke obscured his silhouette and he disappeared from in front of their eyes.

The three genins looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments. Eventually, seeing nobody making the first move, Naruto shrugged.

"Well, I'm going home. See you tomorrow."

He turned and was about to leave when Sasuke called out:

"Naruto!"

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

"A rumour is going around in the village...They say that you killed Mizuki sensei."

Without turning around, Naruto asked, his voice subdued:

"And? What of it?"

"Is it true?" Sasuke asked with a peculiar tone in his voice.

"That's none of your concern!" Naruto said and began to leave.

In a burst of speed, Sasuke appeared right behind him and clasped his shoulder...but when Naruto turned his head toward him, Sasuke froze like a statue. A peculiar feeling crawled up his back, making him shiver.

"You might still be stronger than me Sasuke...but Mizuki was also stronger. Much stronger than me and much stronger than you too."

He slapped Sasuke's arm away from his shoulder and turned to leave. As his silhouette disappeared through the foliage of the surrounding forest, a few words reached the Uchiha's ears:

"Do not underestimate me, Sasuke."

For a few long moments, Sasuke remained petrified in his place. He looked at his shaking hands in fear and confusion. His back was drenched in sweat and his breathing uneven. He couldn't understand what had happened to him.

Hidden between the leaves of a nearby tree, Hatake Kakashi had witnessed the entire scene.

"Did he just project his killing intent...?" he muttered greatly surprised.

It was not normal for a genin, let alone for someone fresh out of the Academy to be able to exert that kind of psychological pressure. Normally, someone being able to manifest killing intent was a proof that that person killed quite a few people along the time.

"Sasuke got to experience it on his own skin what is the difference between a greenhorn and a shinobi that was baptized in the blood of his enemy." Kakashi mused.

Uchiha Sasuke was the Rookie of the Year. A true prodigy. But in a life and death confrontation, had Naruto wanted to strike him in those few seconds when he was petrified, Sasuke would have been killed. Because those that had taken a life had a much stronger mentality. Being a shinobi was not all about power.

 _Scene break_

Another week passed. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were currently in the middle of their 4th try at passing Hatake Kakashi's so-called test.

Unfortunately for them, they failed this time around too. Sasuke was pinned with shurikens to a tree and Sakura was hanging upside down from a rope tied around her ankle, all the while desperately trying to keep her dress up and protect her modesty, to not let anyone see her panties. As for Naruto, he was buried neck-deep into the ground.

"Ok, lesson time." Kakashi said and he took a seat on a nearby wooden log.

"HEY! Can you at least get me down first!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs.

Kakashi replied uncaringly:

"Are you a kunoichi, or what? Why haven't you cut the rope with a kunai yet?"

Sakura blushed bright red. Surely, she had kunais in the pouch strapped to her thigh but she couldn't move her hands. If she did, one side of her dress would fall down and her panties would be seen by everyone. And there was no way she was going to let anyone but Sasuke to see that part of her.

In the end, Kakashi had to go to Sakura and cut the rope. He also went to Sasuke and Naruto to free them. The three genins sat in front of their teacher with disgruntled expressions on their faces.

Kakashi sighed.

"I'm thinking of dropping you three."

The genins began to look at him wide-eyed.

"After all, people so thick-headed and stubborn like you...I have not seen in a long while."

"It's the 4th time you failed in getting the bells!"

Kakashi looked at them pointedly, through his one eye, starting from the left, with Naruto.

"I have told you three times before, with now being the fourth: when your enemy is much stronger than you, do not attack head-on! Wait for a chance when I am distracted or preoccupied with something else. Aim for a moment of weakness! This is what a shinobi is supposed to do, not plunge head-first... doing that in a real battle is the best way to get killed fast."

Naruto looked at the ground not saying anything.

Kakashi moved on to the Uchiha boy:

"Sasuke! Always trying to cast your Great Fireball technique... Let me point a few flaws of how you are using your jutsu - similarly, for the 4th time. It takes you 5 seconds to make the handseals - fact which means that you should cast it when you are at long distance away from me. Not when I'm just 30 feet away from you, for kami's sake! Any random jounin can cross that distance in the blink of an eye and kill you before you even get past your first handseal"

"Another flaw: the size of the fireball may be impressive but its speed is too lacking. Even if you were to cast it when I'm only 10 feet away from you, I would still have time to dodge it. Is this not simply just a way for your to waste your chakra and leave yourself open to my attack?"

"I'm being much harsher on you, Sasuke, because, supposedly, you were the top of your class. You should understand better than the others what your flaws are. All the Academy instructors praised you for being a genius...something which seems to be quite far from the actual truth if you ask me."

Kakashi sighed again after his long rant. Turning towards Sakura, Kakashi's voice became even sterner.

"Sakura!"

"H-Hai!"

"I told you three times until now to change your outfit to something befitting a kunoichi! At my request, even Naruto changed his clothes and their only problem had been their colour...yours though are atrocious. You think being a kunoichi is all about fashion and being trendy?"

Naruto, who had been sporting his bright orange jumpsuit before, changed his outfit to one that was more adequate for a shinobi in. A pair of dark-blue trousers and a simple black t-shirt.

"Tell you what: tomorrow, if you don't come with clothes befitting a kunoichi, I will personally speak to Hokage-sama for you to be demoted back to Academy. I'm dead serious about this."

Sakura's eyes filled with tears. But Kakashi remained uncaring.

"Lastly, what in the world makes you three think you have any remote chance of getting the bells from me by attacking me alone? Have you ever heard of the word 'teamwork'?"

Kakashi closed his single eye and groaned in annoyance.

"In 4 days you will take the exam again. If you fail once more, either the Hokage will send you back to the Academy, or I will give up on you three. I will quit and return to training ANBU recruits."

 _Scene break_

It was unlike Kakashi to get so invested in merely training some genins. Obviously, his current actions were the result of an outside impulse - a certain Sannin that may have or may have not threatened him into not doing a half-hearted job at training her soon to become adopted son.

And that Sannin, like every day after Naruto finished his training, was asking him about his day.

"We failed again. Kakashi sensei said that if we fail one more time, we will get sent back to the Academy."

Naruto looked at Tsunade with a glint in his eyes.

"Auntie, you're very strong! How about teaching me one cool jutsu?"

Tsunade bonked the top his head as to admonish him, but they way she did it was so gentle that it turned out to be a rather affectionate gesture.

"You would not be able to learn, as you put it, a cool jutsu in only 4 days. Moreover, training now would be like trying to fatten up the pig in the Rinne Festival's Eve. You cannot significantly improve in such a short time."

Naruto pouted at her words but Tsunade continued undaunted.

"Honestly, it is also impossible for 3 genins to get the drop on someone like Kakashi. He is not one of the most powerful shinobi in Konoha for nothing."

"Then, why did he ask us to do it if it can't be done in the first place? That cyclops wants to fail us on purpose!" Naruto said aggravated.

"I think that what Kakashi wants to see at you three is teamwork...most likely, if you put up a good fight while working together, he will pass you."

Although he had initially perked up, Naruto became depressed again once he though about it for a moment longer. The chances of the three of them working together would be higher than that of Naruto defeating Kakashi by himself. That's how uncooperative the three of them were with each other.

 _Scene break_

"Hokage-sama, I'm not cut out for teaching genins. I quit."

As a shinobi, one could not simply quit an assignment given by the Hokage. Hatake Kakashi, however, was not an ordinary shinobi. Besides this, his attitude was understandable - from being an ANBU captain and training recruits that were already powerful shinobi in their own right, teaching genins was unbearable. It was like asking a University Maths teacher to go to the elementary school to teach the multiplication table to the students. It wasn't that he wouldn't be able to, but that he won't have the patience nor the needed motivation for that.

And Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that point. Moreover, if he were to think about it better, Kakashi training genins was actually a waste of resources - finding a random jounin to teach genins could be done in a moment. But finding someone skilled, experienced and trustful enough to train ANBU operatives? Now that wasn't something easy to achieve. Logically, someone like Hatake Kakashi should be used to his fullest potential.

Seeing the Hokage remaining silent, Kakashi continued:

"I suspect that by making me a jounin sensei you have tried to give me a holiday, a break from the life as an ANBU."

"...It was much appreciated."

"However, it's been more than half a year already...and my place is not here. I am an ANBU. I've been one for the most part of my life."

* * *

AN:

 _(No beta and I'm not an English native either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	9. Chapter 9 - Sincerity

AN: I have a bit more time on my hands so I decided to start writing again for this story. Don't expect lightning fast updates though. Enjoy!

Red panels - used for the [Absolute Choice] and other urgent messages related to it.  
Green panels - for achievements like completing a quest or leveling up.  
Blue panels - others

"Hello" - normal talking

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Sincerity**

 _'Should I really send these 3 back to the Academy?'_ Sandaime thought to himself after Hatake Kakashi left his office. But he gave an answer to that question himself. _'Impossible.'_

 _'Uchiha Sasuke is the last Uchiha. He was the Rookie of the Year too. Sending someone like him back is undoubtedly not even an option._ _As for Naruto? How can I possibly reject the Yondaime's son?'_

In all the fairness, the were many eyes watching Team 7's development. While Haruno Sakura was deemed irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, that was not the case for Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. One was the heir of the clan that possessed a legendary bloodline limit, while the other one was none other than the jinchuuriki of the most powerful tailed beast in existence. Great things were being expected from the two of them.

 _'There's still half a year until the start of the next Chunin Exams.'_ the old man thought. A plan was slowly being formed in his mind. _'I think it's time for Jiraiya to return to the village. I will give him 2-3 months to straighten up his business regarding his espionage activities and then have him come back and train Team 7.'_

Sarutobi Hirzuen knew that Jiraiya's work outside the village was important, but it wasn't the kind that would blow up if he were to not be a part of it for a short while - he didn't plan on having Jiraiya become Team 7's permanent sensei.

 _'_ Out _of the 6 remaining months until the Chunin Exams, Jiraiya will be training them during the last 3 months. I hope this will be enough.'_

This event was more than just a simple exam to promote genins... It was a full-fledged "Cold War" between the Hidden Villages, the results of their genins in exams serving as a way to show off their village's capability. It was also marketing as it was a very good opportunity to attract more contractors. Not to mention that when word came out about the last Uchiha's and Konoha's jinchuuriki's participation in the exams, many would set their eyes on them. It could be said that, for better or worse, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto were going to represent Konohagakure no Sato's face in upcoming Chunin Exams. He couldn't possibly let them be seen as weak.

 _'But who should I assign as their sensei instead of Kakashi until Jiraiya becomes available?'_

 _Scene break_

"I am Ebisu-sensei. An elite jounin! And from today on, you can consider yourself blessed to have me as your jounin-sensei!"

A not quite silent "tsk" came from the group of genins and the self-proclaimed elite jounin adjusted his round shades on his nose, glaring at the one who made it.

 _'That demon fox.'_

Naruto could recognize the look in the man's eyes even through the sunglasses he was wearing. He had been subjected to it for so long that he didn't even need to see it in order to feel it when he was being watched with hatred.

 _'Those cold eyes again! Everyone is just...'_ the boy thought, gnashing his teeth.

The boy's hostility didn't go unnoticed by the jounin.

"What's the matter, brat? Got a problem with that?" he asked condescendingly.

Naruto couldn't reign himself in and burst:

"Damn right I do! What can we possibly learn from a closet pervert like you?"

Ebisu bristled at Naruto's words and his voice turned serious:

"Who are you calling a closet pervert?!''

''And you think you're better than me!? Hoho... very well then. Come!" he said and his hand made a mocking beckoning gesture. "I'll show you what an elite jounin can do."

Naruto was just about to jump forward when, to his great surprise, Uchiha Sasuke grabbed him from the elbow.

"Don't be stupid, dobe. He is not a jounin for nothing."

His warning fell on deaf ears however as Naruto wrenched his arm out of his grasp.

"Mind your own business, teme!"

Then, pointing his finger at Ebisu, he yelled:

"Don't start crying after I kick your ass!"

"I heard about Mizuki. But don't get ahead of yourself, brat." Ebisu harrumphed and adjusted his shades on his nose again. "This is silly. I am an elite jounin. I'm not like Mizuki."

Without wasting a second more, Naruto jumped towards the jounin, swinging his fist wildly. But Ebisu swated his fist away easily and thrust his palm into his chest. In the end, however, he was a Konoha jounin; he had no intention to kill him, even though he hated the boy's guts. Thanks to that, the jounin's palm did not send the boy flying, it merely pushed him back a little.

All of a sudden, a puff of smoke obscured the surrounding area for a few seconds and then an obscene moaning sound was heard from within.

"Ahh, Ebisu-samaaa!"

For a second, the Jounin was stunned. But then, his eyes fell on his own hand: it was flat against the curvaceous chest of a drop-dead gorgeous blonde girl...a very much naked blonde girl. His brain simply stopped working. Like twin geysers, blood burst out from his nostrils and flew back unconscious. For a closet pervert like him, the excitation had proved to be more than he could handle.

 _Scene Break_

"Another tiring shift at the hospital..." Tsunade groaned and rubbed her lower back as she stretched her spine.

But she was not really complaining. She loved being a medic and she truly took pride in what she did. Moreover, after so many years of merely wandering around like a stray, it felt good to be home.

 _'Home...'_

She used to detest that word. She was still party biased against it. In her eyes, her home, Konohagakure no Sato, took away everything she had from her. Despite that, after such a long time, she was finally starting to hope again. Because she had another two different people in her life that filled the void left by her brother's and her lover's death: Shizune and...Naruto.

A smile made its way on her face when she thought of the young boy. It reminded her so much of her brother that she found it hard to stop herself hugging the life out of him whenever she saw him.

Taking her sandals off, Tsunade entered her home.

"I'm home!" she called out.

When she entered the living room though, she stopped dead in her tracks at what greeted her eyes.

"What's with the goggles inside the house, Naruto?"

A forced laughter came from the boy as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly:

"Ahahaha! The sun is too bright for my-"

"Do you hear yourself? We're inside the house."

Naruto started to sweat nervously.

"Auntie Tsunade, I'm totally not hiding anything, I swear!" he yelled, with his arms flailing in front of him.

Looking at how ridiculous he looked trying to hide whatever had happened to him made Tsunade have a really hard time not burst into laughter. But she kept her outward composure.

"Oh, then take off your goggles!"

"Well, you see-"

"Hm? How about you tell me what are you hiding, Naruto." she said as she began to approach him.

The boy gulped as he started to step back in an attempt to maintain a healthy distance between him and what he deemed as his demise.

When the world suddenly froze over and lost its colour, Naruto almost sighed in relief.

 _'This is extending my life with half a minute. It's not much but it's better than instant death.'_

Naruto was not really clear himself why was he trying to hide it from her. Was he afraid of getting smacked? He had started to live with Tsunade two weeks ago but in this time frame, Tsunade had never hit him even once. By far, the last two weeks have been the most beautiful period of his life.

Breaking himself from his thoughts, he turned his attention to the matter at hand.

 **Absolute Choice  
**

 **[1] Speak the truth.  
** **[2] Cover up your deeds.**

When he finished reading that, two other explanatory panels popped up.

 **[1]Speak the truth  
** ** _Consequences:_  
** **\- the Player might provoke Tsunade's wrath.  
** ** _Rewards:_  
** **-EXP: 2000**

Naruto anxiously scratched his hair with both of his hands when he read "Tsunade's wrath". And he could totally see that happening if he mentioned how he had Henged into a naked girl.

"Shieeet. Auntie can crush rocks to dust with her hands alone. One gentle slap from her and I'm a goner!"

But after he said those words, he turned silent. Was he really scared of her beating him? After all, during the two weeks they've been living together, she didn't show any violent tendencies against him.

 **[2] Cover up your deeds  
** ** _Consequences:_  
** **\- a lack of trust will follow  
** ** _Reward:  
_** **\- EXP: 100**

When he read the consequences of lying to her, he finally realized why he was so distressed about Tsunade finding the truth. So far, she had shown him nothing but kindness and affection. What he was truly afraid of, was disappointing her.

 _'Unlike the rest of the villagers, she is so kind to me! Auntie Tsunade healed me, and took me in to live with her when my house was burnt down...she even gives me food, washes my clothes and at night she sometimes tells me stories about her missions from when she was young.'_

And she was doing all that without asking for anything in return. Naruto has never had anyone take care of his needs like that until then. When he lived alone, after his allowance money were spent, he would have to hunt or fish for his food; as for washing his clothes? He forgot when was the last time he had done it.

It was only after Tsunade took him in that Naruto finally realized how hard he had used to have it and just how blessed the other children were... to have no worries related to what they would eat, or what clothes they would wear... to have someone ask them about their day and tuck them in at night...to have someone to spend time with them and show them affection. Almost daily, he would stop and ask himself if his current life was truly real and not just a dream. Sometimes, he felt as though he had died along with the demon fox in the dark sewer of his mind and now he was living in heaven.

It was because of this that he couldn't possibly lie to her. She had appeared in the worst moment on his life and saved him. And if that was not enough, she transformed his life into what felt like heaven for him. The gratitude Naruto felt for Tsunade was bordering veneration.

 _'She will be disappointed in me...but I can't lie to her after everything she's done for me. I will never lie to her.'_

The world returned back to normal and Naruto took off his large goggles. Just like he had expected, Tsunade's expression morphed into a frown.

''Naruto, who did that to you?''

After he took off his goggles, Tsunade could finally see what he had been hiding: he was sporting a rather mean black eye and one of his brows still had pieces of clogged blood stuck in it.

Although hesitant, Naruto replied:

''We got a new sensei. Ebisu.''

The mood became heavy and an ominous feeling loomed in the air. It wasn't killing intent but it brought forth a very stifling pressure. One look at Tsunade's face convinced him that she looked ready to murder someone.

''Why did he beat you up?''

Tsunade was angry, but she was still an adult and she also knew how much of a naughty brat Naruto could be sometimes. The pranks he pulled on various villagers every week were proof of that. She decided to listen the entire story before drawing a conclusion.

When Naruto finished telling her the incident, Tsunade was not sure how to react. On one hand, she felt like Ebisu was right to get angry at Naruto making a fool out of him but on the other hand, she wanted to beat up Ebisu to an inch of his life for what he had done to Naruto. She had never hit Naruto, who was he to do it? Because clearly, Naruto's wounds were not the result of a spar. The veins on her forearm bulged when she clenched her fists, barely managing to keep her calm. It was only the thought that Naruto did not deserve to be on the receiving end of her anger that kept her fluctuating feelings in check.

Tsunade took a seat on the sofa, next to Naruto and leaned on the backrest while letting out a loud sigh. Trying to dispel the tension, she placed one of her hands on his head, caressing it for a few moments. Then, a green glow of chakra engulfed her hand and she started to slowly massage the bruised area around his eyes. Naruto flinched a bit in pain but only a few seconds later, a feeling of relief replaced it.

''How did you know he was a pervert? Did you see him doing something like peeking on women at the hot springs?'' she asked as she worked on healing his eye.

''No... I didn't.''

''Then how did you know?'' Tsunade asked again. She had a feeling that Naruto was not telling her everything. That he was hiding something from her.

Just as she thought about that, for Naruto, for the second time that day, the world once again became frozen and lost all its colour. A red window appeared in front of his eyes:

 **Absolute Choice**

 **[1] Tell Tsunade the truth about Absolute Choice  
[2] Keep the existence of this game secret**

When he finished reading, like usual, two other red panels appeared:

 **[1] Tell Tsunade the truth about Absolute Choice  
 _Consequences:  
_ \- Tsunade may/may not think the Player is crazy  
\- degree of trust will decrease/increase significantly, according to the conclusion she will have reached  
 _Rewards:  
\- _Exp: 2000**

 **[2] Keep the existence of this game secret  
 _Rewards:_  
\- Exp: 2000**

Another red window popped up after that:

 **The Player has 30 seconds left to make a choice. Unless a choice is made in the specified time frame, the [System] will automatically choose the first option by default.**

Naruto frowned. It was not normal for the [System] to force him into making two decisions a day. It was even more unusual to force him make two very important decisions in the same day. Most of the time, he had to make banal decisions like what to eat at breakfast or what route to take to the training ground and the like.

Pushing abnormality of the situation aside, he began to think about the options displayed in front of him.

On one hand, like he had decided before, he wanted to not lie to Tsunade. And keeping such a major secret from her was a form of lying as well in his eyes. But, on the other hand, he still remembered how the Sandaime Hokage and Iruka reacted when he tried telling them the truth after he slapped Sakura. Not only did they not believe him, the Hokage even thought that he was having some issues.

 _'Kuso! What should I do?'_

It was a really tough choice for him. He didn't want Tsunade to think that he was crazy.

 _'What if she won't want me anymore?'_

The countdown continued to tick and he was getting increasingly anxious the closer it got to its end. He looked again over the two options. The second seemed to not even have any consequences or any drawbacks for that matter. Even the amount of Experience Points he would receive was the same. Theoretically, it was the most sensible option to choose.

But he did not want to compromise. He did not want to go back on the promise he had made to himself. He was risking much by doing that, but in his mind, Tsunade did not deserve to be deceived. Therefore, when the world returned to normal, he spoke the truth:

''I can see other people's status...''

Tsunade continued to at him silently, waiting for him to explain himself."

''...I can see a numerical representation of their health or vitality and their chakra reserves. I can also see their level and other pieces of information about them...and his title was 《Closet Pervert》''

The blonde Sannin suddenly closed the distance between the two of them and Naruto cringed in preparation to be hit.

''I'm not going to hurt you, Naruto.'' Tsunade said kindly. ''But you have to understand that what you're telling me is not an easy thing to believe.''

''I need to make sure that you're completely confident about what you're saying. And, if your words are true, I need to find out whether there is anything wrong with you or not...after all, I'm a medic. And you are in my care. Your safety and health are important to me.''

She took a hold of his forearm and a green glow surrounded her hand as she pressed her thumb against the pulse point on his wrist. For half a minute, Tsunade focused on grasping the rhythm of his pulse.

''Tell me again what you said before.''

 _Scene Break_

By observing his pulse, Tsunade was convinced that Naruto was not making things up. From that, she thought that there were 2 alternatives: either the boy had some sort of mental issues or what he said was true. But she was convinced of his words being the truth when he started to tell her what her status panel was showing him: (1)

Tsunade Senju, Lvl 85(+6)

HP: 5k(+10k)  
CP: 8k(+40k)

Titles:

《Slug Sannin》  
《Konoha's Slug Princess》  
《World's Strongest Kunoichi》  
《Wolrd's Greatest Medic》  
《The Legendary Sucker》

Notable Equipment:

\- First Hokage's necklace  
\- Yin Seal

 _'There's no way for someone like Naruto to know of all my aliases or about Shodaime's necklace or my Yin Seal.'_

What truly sold his words as truth though was the numerical representation of her chakra reserves. Naruto openly expressed that he had no clue as to why were there parentheses and that it was the first time he has ever seen that in someone's status.

But Tsunade knew very well the reason behind that: when she released the Yin Seal in her forehead, both her vitality and chakra reserves would increase dramatically. And, what figuratively hit the last nail in the coffin, was that the CP (chakra points) value from the parentheses was 5 times bigger than the numerical value of her base chakra reserves. Absolutely nobody in the entire world knew that information except for her. Nobody knew that her seal had in that moment 5 times more charkra stored than her basic reserves.

Tsunade stopped pressing her thumb on the pulse point of his wrist and ended the technique. She grabbed Naruto's small hands and looked him in the eye.

''I believe you, Naruto.''

The boy's eyes widened, clearly not having expected to hear those words.

''Truly?"

"Yes, truly!"

Naruto averted his eyes down to their hands and mumbled shyly:

''Thank you. I'm happy you don't think I'm crazy.''

Tsunade raised her arms around him and embraced him to her chest.

''I'm also happy that you trusted me enough to come out and tell me. I understand how difficult it must have been for you.''

''But don't worry, I'll never doubt you from now on. I promise.''

He simply nodded and closed his eyes, basking in the warmth of her embrace. But sooner than he would have liked, Tsunade broke the hug and sat up.

''You have nothing to worry about when it comes to your future training with Ebisu. I'm going now to speak with the Hokage. From tomorrow, I'll take over your training myself.''

Naruto's mouth opened in surprise.

''But you're very busy with the hospital! Is it not gonna be too hard on you?!''

Tsunade smiled at him.

 _'What a good child he is. Even in a situation like his, he still thinks about others' well-being.'_

But despite Naruto's concerns, Tsunade had made up her mind.

''I will not let you be on the receiving end of that jounin's ire, Naruto. Even if he won't openly hit you, as your sensei he has more than one way to cause you harm if he wishes so.''

''I'm sorry.'' Naruto mumbled.

Tsunade inwardly sighed at how he apologised.

 _'He'd been neglected for as long as he can remember. Nobody ever took his side, nobody ever defended him. Now, when someone stands up for him, he doesn't know how to react.'_

Tsunade felt her eyes misting. Kneeling on the floor to get to his eye-level, she suddenly brought him back to her chest in a tight embrace. Maternal instincts that she never knew she before she met Naruto were roused more and more, witch each passing moment she spent in his company. She didn't fully understood it herself, but she wanted to make him happy. She wanted to make him feel loved, to show him that he was no longer alone.

''You have nothing to be sorry about.'' she spoke, her shaky voice betraying her emotions. ''From now on, you'll have me, Naruto.''

''You're not alone anymore. And I will protect you. I can probably never offer what your real mother would have had she still been alive, but I will take care of you as though you were my own son. That, if you would let me.''

Naruto did not speak but nodded, his face buried in the crook of her neck. She could feel the boy's tears wetting her skin as he also brought his arms around her, returning the hug. He was holding onto her tightly as though she was his lifeline. And she truly was. Because after the ordeal and disillusionment he suffered a few weeks prior, Naruto lost his purpose, he lost what had been driving him to brush aside the pain that he had endured in his life. Right now, it was Tsunade's love that made him want to live. And she knew that. At an intuitive level, Tsunade knew that in that moment, she meant the world for Naruto.

Realising that fact overwhelmed her.

A fierce protectiveness for the boy in her arms was lit inside of her.

Ebisu was going to pay dearly. What he did to her boy, she was going to turn it back to him tenfold.

* * *

AN: I didn't exaggerate with Ebisu's behaviour, nor with Naruto's. I have re-watched the episode of his debut in anime specifically to make sure that I won't follow the "everyone thinks Naruto is a demon'' trope. Ebisu truly thought about Naruto like that and he acted like an arrogant asshole in the 2nd episode of the anime. It was only much later on (in Shippuden) that Ebisu went through some significant character development. Also, when Kakashi dumped Naruto in order to train Sasuke, Ebisu was the one that was assigned to train him. Back then, Naruto went even to the point where he challenged Ebisu, saying that he doesn't need training from someone weaker than him lol.

(1) It was not a mistake on my part: I did make Tsunade's level when she releases her seal (85+6=91) to be higher than that of Sarutobi (89). I think Sarutobi was way too overhyped by the author in the beginning stages of the series. By the time the 4th Shinobi War came around, Sandaime fell short in power compared to most of the significant characters that participated in the war. In my opinion, Tsunade is much stronger. Actually, I think that she was the strongest of the 5 kage in her time. Well, this is just my opinion. You might have a different one. But this is what I am going to go by in this story.

 _(Not an English native and I have no beta either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	10. Chapter 10 - Tsunade

AN: This chapter is quite long compared to the previous ones. Enjoy!

"Hello" - normal talking

 _'Hello'_ \- thoughts

* * *

 **Chapter 10 - Tsunade**

 _'Gahaha! Today was the best!'_ a man thought to himself grinning in bliss.

 _'I got to teach the Kyuubi brat his place...'_

 _'And tonight...'_

As he thought of that, he blushed and a trickle of blood fell from his nose. A lecherous grin marred face.

 _'Nnngh, tonight was heavenly!'_

Obviously, what happened in the latter part of the day was responsible for his extremely good mood. Dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit and a bandana cap that covered up his head, it was none other than Team 7's new jounin sensei, Ebisu. Now, he was on his way back from the Red Light District of Konoha, after a particularly productive visit to his favourite brothel.

Him being given the title of 《Closet Pervert》 was not undeserved. While the jounin appeared morally proper in his daily life, when the night fell, he would not hesitate in indulging his carnal urges. Not that he was the only one. In the Elemental Nations, the shinobi population represented the highest percentage of every brothel's customers. Generally, shinobi led dangerous lives. Many of them did not reach the age of 50. Shinobi that died of old age were almost like a bed-time story for them. That said, when someone led such a life, they would be much less reserved about satisfying their urges. A human's life was short, even more than so for shinobi. They were not going to say 'no' to one of the most pleasurable things in life.

On his way back home, Ebisu nearly skipped like a schoolgirl. Humming a happy tune, he started to jump from one rooftop to another at a considerable speed. Soon, he reached his home. It was in a respectable and quiet district of the village, most of the people living there being either wealthy merchants or retired shinobi. Still humming his happy song, the jounin fished out the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

Closing the door after him and turning on the light, a content sigh leaked out from his lips. He closed his eyes and breathed in. As he did that, soft fragrance of lavender reached his nose and he shivered. It wasn't too sweet; it was very delicate and completely different from what the prostitutes at the brothels he frequented used to wear.

 _'This is what a classy, sexy, mature woman would wear. Kami~'_

For a pervert like him, that subtle fragrance of lavender was so stimulating that his imagination started to run wild. Something like a moan came out of his throat and he grabbed his junk feeling himself getting hard.

"Disgusting creep." a woman's cold voice was suddenly heard in the silence of his home, and Ebisu froze like a deer caught in the spotlight.

Had he been on guard at all times like a jounin was supposed to be, alarm bells would have rung in his head the moment he caught the foreign fragrance when he entered his house. He would have deduced that someone broke into his house because he was single and no other woman ever came into his house for that matter. Alas, his lusty nature got the better of him and now, he was caught in the act of touching himself and moaning like a pervert - caught by a woman no less.

The image of a proper, elite jounin that he had so painstakingly tried to project in front of others for years was now broken. He was so mortified that he didn't even dare to open his eyes. His embarrassment was so severe that his mind did not register how high was the possibility that the person that broke into his house was most likely not having any good intentions in regards to him.

Not a second later after the woman's voice came out, Ebisu felt the air leave his lungs as a heel was buried in his stomach. It was as though time was stopped for a moment. But it was only his imagination. A mixture of blood and spittle burst from his mouth and his body was hurled backwards as though he had been hit by a train. The door of the house was too feeble to hold him and it exploded in a rain of wooden splinters as his body crashed through it and continued to fly towards the middle of the street.

As mentioned before, it was a quiet, respectable district. Furthermore, it was past the middle of the night. When the door was smashed to bits and Ebisu started to howl and scream in pain once he collided with the ground, the entire street was woken up and thrown into chaos. The lights of the neighbouring houses were turned and scared and curious people peeked through the half-opened doors of their houses.

Stepping through the remains of the door of Ebisu's house, a woman came into everyone's view. The darkness of the night made her appearance a bit obscure, but everyone that laid their eyes on her could immediately identify her. Blonde hair styled in 2 loose pigtails, wearing a green haori over her day-time clothes and a pair of breasts equal to none in Konoha. Yet, at that moment, nobody could care to appreciate the perfection of her physical appearance. Because at that moment, a monstrous killing intent loomed over the entire street. Tsunade Senju was seething.

As she stepped towards the collapsed form of Ebisu, the ground crumbled beneath her feet like a spiderweb each time she touched it and a green aura began to seep out of her skin. In the darkness of the night, it was all the more visible.

"Get up. I didn't even hit you that hard."

Hearing her words, the surrounding people felt faint. With a kick, she sent someone through a door and several tens of feet through the air, how was that 'not that hard'?!

Ebisu however, was coughing desperately as he lay coiled on the ground, barely able to breathe. Pushing back her disgust at seeing the mess he made, she bent down and her right hand clenched around his neck like a vice. She lifted him in the air, by the neck, holding her to her eye level as she stood up.

"Do you know who am I?" Tsunade asked, her voice thick with killing intent.

Despite the atrocious pain, Ebisu forced himself to rasp out:

"T-Tsunade...the Sannin..."

"Good. Do you know why am I doing this?"

"N-No!"

Tsunade's killing intent only soared at his response. Her fist smashed against his face and the jounin was flung back like a speeding bullet. His body crashed through the fence of a house and landed close to the window from where 2 children had been watching the entire thing. Panicked screams came from them at the display of violence.

By now, the disturbance was so great that the ANBU operatives tasked with patrolling the village that night took notice of it too. In less than 2 minutes after Tsunade sent Ebisu through the door of his house, 2 masked shinobi appeared at the scene - just in time to see Ebisu sent get violently punched in the pace and sent flying through the fence.

Tsunade was about to lunge at him again when 2 silhouettes appeared in front of her with a shunshin.

"That's a grave disturbance of the public order. You will cease all hostilities and follows us to the TI section." one of them said sternly, glaring at her through his mask.

"Move aside, ANBU!" Tsunade warned and her heel 'lightly' stomped the ground.

The two ANBU shinobi retreated by instinct, only for a feeling of terror to sink in their gut when they saw the circular crater of over 15 feet in diameter left in the road. That monstrous strength was not something a human could possess.

 _'B-Bakemono!'_

Before the two ANBU came around from their shock, Tsunade reached the barely conscious Ebisu - she had made sure both times to greatly restrain her strength when she had hit him. Otherwise, Ebisu would have been smashed into a paste of gore from the first hit. Even without being enhanced by her chakra, Tsunade could rupture the ground with a mere finger bump.

She grabbed the downed jounin by the collar of his blouse and lifted him to her eye level again.

"Put him down right away!" one of the two ANBU shouted and despite the trembling of their hands, they both drew out their tanto from the sheath on their back.

It was in that moment a small gale of wind blew and the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen made his appearance at the scene. The old man looked like he had just jumped out of his bed, evident by the fact that he was dressed in brown kimono sleepwear and wearing a pair of cotton slippers on his feet.

As mentioned before, Ebisu's home was located in a respectable and quiet district of the village. That being the case, the Hokage's mansion was located there as well. And when the massive crashing noises woke him up from his sleep, Sarutobi did not waste even a minute before rushing to the scene. With so many ANBU operatives guarding the village every night, this kind of incidents never happened. He reasoned that something serious must have transpired. When he reached the place, he arrived just in time to hear Tsunade speak, her voice thick with killing intent.

"If I hear you ever as much as lay a finger on Naruto from now on, I'll kill you. Do you hear me, worm?"

The foul smell of urine that reached her in the next moment was all the answer she got before the man lost his consciousness.

 _Scene break_

The news of what Tsunade did spread the next day like wildfire. She broke into a jounin's house, destroyed his place, beat the living daylights out of him until he soiled himself and created major destruction in the neighbourhood. The rumours then started to escalate from Tsunade threatening to kill him if he ever hurt Naruto again, to something exaggerated like the Sandaime Hokage teaming up with a squad of ANBU and fighting a massive battle to stop Tsunade from killing Ebisu.

Sarutobi Hirzuen was not happy with the situation. Tsunade Senju was a person to whom many looked up to and respected. Despite her notoriously bad luck and addiction to gambling, she was known as the most powerful woman in the Elemental Nations and the best Medic in the world. She was a living legend. And when such a person blatantly ignored rules to wreak havoc, it was sure to have repercussions beyond the ordinary scope of things.

When he called her the next day to his office to discuss the problem, however, the old shinobi was left without words at the questions that she threw back at him.

"When Naruto's apartment was vandalized while he was on his death bed, was there any action taken against the culprits? Were they punished in any way?"

"Also, tell me, sensei: what would you do if you one day you found your grandson Konohamaru coming home with his face all bruised and battered as a result of his sensei taking out his anger on him?"

He was shut up. There was nothing to reply against that. Because the matter of Naruto's apartment being destroyed was not pursued. The culprits were not punished in any way. In the first place, just like the ANBU operatives had stepped in the previous night to stop Tsunade from wreaking havoc, they could have stepped in to stop the drunkards form vandalizing his house too. But they had not. The ANBU patrolling the village that night had just closed their eyes turned away their heads. And even the Hokage himself did not take any actions either. This alone was reason enough to make him shut up.

But when he also thought about how would he react to see his grandson be physically abused by someone, he knew the answer in his heart: the culprit would either be swiftly killed or Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi would have a torture feast in the cells of the Konohagakure Intelligence Division headquarters.

Sarutobi no longer had the courage to look his former student in the eyes. 1

"No matter how I look at it, treating a child like that is not normal. Especially when given Naruto's importance to the village." Tsunade said, her anger still burning.

"Let everyone know this, sensei: Uzumaki Naruto is no longer alone. He has a family."

"Tell them that Tsunade Senju has a new son."

 _Scene break - 2 weeks later_

 _"Orange Super Awesome Destroyer to Duck Butt Uchiha: Target spotted. I repeat, target spotted. Over."_

 _"Who are you calling duck butt, want me to kill you, loser?"_ screamed a voice from the other side of the transmission.

 _"Duck Butt Uchiha should prioritize the mission's objectives over personal issues. Over."_ Naruto replied snickering.

 _"Baka Naruto, stop insulting Sasuke! You're not even wearing orange anymore anyway!"_ Sakura also yelled through the earpiece.

 _"S-Shut up stupid! Over."_ Naruto yelled flustered. Saying that he was not wearing orange anymore was a low blow for him. Even though Kakashi Hatake was no longer their sensei, Naruto still couldn't go back to his old outfit. When he tried to put it on again a few days ago, Tsunade wretched it out of his hands and burnt it down with a Katon Jutsu. Suffice to say that her stance about his fashion sense couldn't be more clear.

 _"You're the idiot! What's even with that 'over' at the end. Baaaaaka!"_ Sakura screamed back at him.

Ever since Naruto slapped her half a year before, Sakura had avoided the blonde like plague. Even after they got assigned to the same team, she never looked him in the eyes, let alone daring to scream at him or hit him like she used to when they were younger. But for the last 2 weeks, Naruto proved to be annoying on a level far beyond how he used to be at the Academy. At least he was most of the time either sleeping there or ditching the classes. But now, it was to the point where the feelings of frustration and anger Naruto was raising in her were overriding her fear of him. Like in the next moment:

 _"That's how professionals use intercoms. You should watch more movies. Uncultured swine. Over."_

Sakura's following scream of rage made Naruto laugh out loud... but it led Sasuke to also finally burst from anger. Taking out his earpiece, he threw it to the ground and stomped on it in an uncharacteristic display of anger.

"Aaarhg! To hell with all of this bullshit!" the Uchiha screamed and dashed towards what was supposed to be their target. They didn't need to communicate via intercoms to catch a mere cat. They were shinobi - after all, even a 12-year-old genin was fast enough to outrun a horse, let alone a puny cat.

In a blur of speed, he appeared above the seemingly unsuspecting cat and threw himself at it with his arms wide open.

"AHA! I GOT YOU!" Sasuke screamed in triumph.

 _*meow*_

 ** _*hissss*_**

A mixture of a meow and a hiss came from the hellcat and faster than Sasuke was able to react, 3 bloody claw marks were left on his cheek, right below his eye. Sasuke's anger was already at its peak so when the cat nearly gouged one of his eyes out, he lost all reason. Grabbing the cat by the tail, he slammed it with all the force into the nearby trunk of a tree.

 _'Fuck, that felt good!'_ was what he thought of the feeling of relieving all of his frustration on the cat.

It was only a moment later that he realized what he had done...Tora was not moving anymore. At all.

 _Scene break - three weeks after Ebisu's appointment_

Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his face with both of his palms from stress.

 _'What am I going to tell to the Feudal Lord's wife? Kami-Sama, what have I done to deserve this?'_

In all the fairness, the Hokage should have seen that coming. Catching the cat of the Feudal Lord's wife had become almost like a tradition for the fresh genin teams in the past few years. The cat escaped the compound of its masters nearly every week, sometimes even more often. The Hokage should have realized that at some point, someone would get so sick of the hellcat that they would try to off her. And giving the mission to catch Tora for the 3rd time in less than 2 weeks to the very same team was apparently all it took for someone to finally snap.

The sight in front of his eyes only made his headache increase. The now healed Ebisu was in a dogeza position while also pressing Sasuke's head into the floor, forcing him in the same prostrating position to apologize. In the meantime, Naruto was literally rolling on and beating the floor with his palms from laughing.

Sakura's face was beet red as she watched her crush gnashing his teeth while kneeling on the floor. She was truly infatuated with him but even to her, it took every ounce of her willpower not to burst into laughter too. She was biting her lips till she almost drew blood but even so, she felt like she was going to lose it any moment then.

Naruto suddenly jumped up from the floor to his feet and put his hands in a ram seal.

"Henge!"

A puff of smoke obscured Naruto for a moment and after it dispersed, Uchiha Sasuke's silhouette appeared instead. He came to the side of the Hokage's desk and puffed his chest in pride before saying:

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. Cat slayer."

Then, making a victory sign with his fingers, he added:

"Hn."

"Bwahahaha!" Naruto himself couldn't hold the henge anymore and fell on his back laughing hysterically at his own joke.

A sudden cough came from the Hokage and the other 4 occupants of the room all froze as they looked at him.

 _'Did...did he just laugh?'_

Sarutobi dressed his voice awkwardly. But there was no coming back from that. And the old Hokage realized it. He could only scream in internal anguish.

 _'Kuso gaki!'_

 _Scene break_

Two weeks passed since Ebisu was appointed as Team 7's jounin sensei. Since then, the team had been doing only D-ranked missions, one after another.

 _'I'm so tired of this.'_ Sasuke raged. But obviously, it was only in his mind. He was above showing his emotions outwardly. When he was still alive, his father told him that a shinobi never let his emotions cloud his judgment and get the better of him.

Yet in spite of that, he found his cool and collected facade break more times than he was willing to count during the past 2 weeks. It was because of all the things that piled up and made it impossible even for him to keep his calm. First, what most people acknowledged as the most powerful jounin of the village had dumped their team, giving up on them.

 _'Then I got stuck with this joke of a sensei.'_ Sasuke gnashed his teeth. _'For 2 weeks, we've been doing nothing but buy shit from the convenience store, painting fences and even ploughing the field.'_

The more he thought about that the more incensed he became.

 _'I'm supposed to be a ninja. I have to train, not be someone's errand boy!'_

For all his flaws though, Ebisu realized the biggest problem of Team 7: the lack of teamwork. He told them he would not teach them any new techniques for as long as they didn't complete at least 1 mission without them bickering or fighting against each other. And THAT was where the problem lay.

 _'That annoying dobe and that obnoxious and useless fangirl!'_

Unintentionally, a scream of frustration escaped from his very soul and he let it out loudly.

"The heck you're suddenly screaming for, teme?!" Naruto yelled at him for having been startled and messing up his work - the three of them were currently painting yet another fence around Nara family's stables.

Sasuke kicked the bucket with paint, spilling it all on the ground.

"Sasuke-kun, what happened?" Sakura yelled loudly.

The boy's face became murderous when he heard her high pitched voice. After 3 full weeks of being in the same team, he felt like wanting to strangle her every time she spoke a word.

"Shut up!" he screamed at her.

It was Ebisu's turn to intervene.

"Uchiha-san, that manner of behaving is unbecoming for someone of your stature." the jounin said. Unlike what he thought about Naruto, Ebisu held Sasuke in very high regards. Not only was he the Rookie of the Year, but he was also an Uchiha.

"You shut up too!" Sasuke screamed at him as well, making the jounin freeze in his tracks.

"I'm sick and tired of this...this SHIT! I am a shinobi! I'm not a damned cotter!"

He had a mad look in his eyes and he was breathing heavily.

"For 3 weeks, we've done the job of a farm labourer and only crappy odd jobs! You've shown us nothing! You don't train us at all!"

"Heck, even at the Academy we had a practical training 3 times a week for kami's sake!"

"To hell with all of this! I'm going home!" the boy yelled one last time before disappearing from the scene in a burst of speed.

Even minutes after his leaving, his two teammates and sensei still kept silent, more than a bit startled at Sasuke's outburst. Every time, it was only Naruto and Sakura that openly expressed their dissatisfaction towards the missions they got and Naruto was the one that had the gall to yell even at the Hokage himself. In comparison, Sasuke always kept to himself, composed and the only thing showing his annoyance was the scowl marring his face. Nothing beyond that though...which in retrospect only made his outburst now make more sense. He had been bottling his negative emotions for so long that when the time came that he could no longer hold them back, it was as though a dam broke.

 _Scene break_

The next day, the team was given a day off so Sasuke decided to go for a walk by the riverside to cool himself down and reflect on his behaviour from the previous day, Whenever he felt too angry or after he had a particularly bad nightmare, he would go for a walk, outside the populated areas of the village to calm himself down. A place without any people, where he could be alone, in silence.

But as he kept walking down his ordinary route, a series of noises reached his ears. Using the cover of the nearby trees, he got closer, until he finally reached their source.

"I'm so glad you could take a day off and come out with me today!" an excited voice was heard.

It was a blonde boy with whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks and blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a pair of dark blue baggy trousers, a simple black t-shirt, and black, open-toed shinobi sandals. On his back, he was carrying a rather large hiking backpack. It was Naruto.

Sasuke was genuinely surprised at how much emotion Naruto's voice carried out and at how happy and honest the smile on his face seemed to be. The Naruto he knew was also always smiling - but it was completely different: it was obnoxious, annoying as hell and, half of the time, Sasuke felt like wanting to bash his head in, especially at the thought that whenever Naruto grinned, there was a high chance that he was cooked something nasty - like the time when he put used chewing gum into his sandals. Sasuke still felt a shiver going down his back every time he was reminded of how unexpected and how disgusting it felt for his bare toes to press against the still wet and slimy, sticky chewing gum. He would have tried to kill him had Ebisu not stepped him and stopped him from getting his hands on him.

Walking next to Naruto was a blonde woman that appeared to be in her thirties. Sasuke felt himself blushing involuntarily at the sight. Tsunade was not wearing her usual outfit but something completely different: it was a light blue summer dress and instead of her high heeled shoes, a pair of simple brown leather sandals. Furthermore, instead of being tied in two loose ponytails like always, her surprisingly long blonde hair was swaying freely in the soft breeze. As to complete the picture, a pretty straw hat was on her head while on one of her arms, she was holding a straw picnic basket covered with white cloth.

It was such a striking contrast from her usual appearance that Sasuke, who was seeing her like that for the first time, was stunned. It was a fact acknowledged by every man in Konoha that Tsunade was one of the most beautiful women in the village, but at that moment, the feminine charm and pure beauty she exuded left even someone as expressionless as Uchiha Sasuke stunned.

Tsunade smiled at Naruto and ruffled his hair gently.

"I'm glad too. It's been many years since I last got out and simply enjoyed my day like this." she said. And she was honest. She truly forgot when was the last time she went out like this. At the very least, she was sure that she had never done it after Dan's and Nawaki's deaths. She had been too bitter and too deeply buried in her trauma to be able to enjoy the small and beautiful things life had to offer. Every day, she would merely drink herself into a stupor or waste all her money in casinos.

But now, Naruto was like a ray of sun in her life. He filled the void she felt after her little brother's death. And for some reason, seeing his honest and happy smile, it brought herself as well. a feeling of happiness that she could not explain.

"Ok, we can stop here." Tsunade said.

Naruto laid his large backpack down and took out a bright neon orange blanket form it.

"Naruto, don't even think of it! Where in the kami's name did you even find a store to buy one in that colour?!"

"B-But what's not ok with it?!" Naruto shouted defensively.

"What's wrong you ask? It's so strident that it hurts my eyes to look at it!" Tsunade yelled back. Naruto crossed his arms to his chest and turned to the side with an exaggerated pout on his face.

"D-Don't pout!" Tsunade shouted flustered.

Seeing him not stopping and feeling herself about to almost give in, she suddenly caught him in a headlock and began to rub his head with her knuckles none too gently.

"Gah! Ok! Ok!" Naruto yelled and tapping on her arm like a wrestler that lost and tried to signal that he gave up.

When he finally got out, his spiky hair looked like the ruffled feathers of a chicken. Grumpily, he went to his backpack and took out another blanket. It was a thick blue patchwork picnic blanket.

"If you had this in the first place, why did you also take the orange one with you?"

"Tsk! Can't blame a man for trying." Naruto said annoyed.

"What's with your fixation for orange anyway?" Tsunade asked mildly amused.

"Orange is the colour of the gods."

"And how would you even know that?"

"S-Shut up!" he sulked, making her laugh at him.

After Naruto spread the blanket on the ground, Tsunade took out a white cloth from the basket and then started to lay the food on it. Sandwiches with ham, melted cheese, and even hot dogs. On top of that, she had also packed apples, strawberries and even a bottle of orange juice. Naruto drooled at the sight.

As she set up the food, she asked:

"How is your training going?"

While Ebisu said he would not train them at all until they learned to get along with each other, Naruto was not affected by it that much. The reason for that was that, true to what she had promised him three weeks before, Tsunade had taken it upon herself to be responsible for his training. And although she couldn't be with him every time, she was showing him clearly what he was supposed to do and set goals for him, like "homework", until their next session.

"It's going really well. I finally learned to walk on water!" Naruto yelled in excitement.

Before Tsunade could even attempt to show her surprise at his achievement, Naruto jumped up to his feet and broke into a run towards the river. Right before attempting to make the first step on water, he brought his hands in a ram seal and closed his eyes for a second, to concentrate. After he calibrated the chakra flow in his body, he exhaled loudly and open his eyes. A confident look burned in them.

When he made the first step, his foot sunk into the water half an inch. But he clenched his teeth.

 _'I can't fail here! I will not fail here!"_

 _"I want to make auntie proud!'_ Naruto yelled inwardly in fierce determination.

Bending to his strength of will, his chakra stopped running wild. The next step he took was so sure that it was like he was stepping on asphalt, not on the water. After that, hearing Tsunade cheering at him, he even did a backflip, fortunately not messing it up.

When she came back to the riverbank, Naruto unabashedly basked in how Tsunade patted the top of his head and praised him. For someone with such a crazy amount of chakra, it was a real achievement to have mastered the water walking exercise in only a few days.

Neither of the two was aware though that from a considerable distance away, Sasuke had been watching the scene. A feeling of envy burned in him at the thought that while Ebisu did not train any of them at all, Naruto was secretly becoming stronger under his new guardian's tutelage. But if that was not enough, what he saw in the next moment, nearly made him faint from anger.

"Auntie, you really were right when you said that chakra control exercise would make me stronger. Look: now, instead of only 50 clones like before, I can make even over 80 in one go!"

As to prove his words, he put his fingers in a cross hand seal and shouted:

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A large plume of smoke obscure the entire riverside, only for not only Tsunade but even Naruto to become blank in shock at the scene... instead of the maximum of 80 clones that Naruto had expected, there were nearly 150 of them! Naruto was not aware of it, but his determination to make Tsunade proud a few moments earlier led to his chakra control technique make a breakthrough. Obviously, the bigger the number of clones, the lesser the strength of each individual alone - after all, the quantity of chakra was the same - however, being able to use less chakra for the clone technique meant he would have more to use for other Jutsus.

Sasuke from his own hiding place, looked as though his soul was about to leave his body.

 _'How did that dobe learn to walk on water? And when did he manage to learn such an incredible technique?!'_

But then, an apparently logical answer came to his mind: it had to be Tsunade.

Oblivious to Sasuke's presence, let alone his thoughts, Naruto turned his attention back to the food. Having made so many clones at the same time opened up his appetite like nothing else.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto yelled and literally dived in mid-air towards the food...only for his plunge to be abruptly stopped when Tsunade grabbed him by the scruff of his t-shirt, holding him in the air like one would hold a naughty cat.

"Brat, what did I tell you to always do before eating?"

"B-But, the food...!" he said, drool coming out from the side of his mouth.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him.

"Go and wash your hands, unless you want me to throw you into the river and get a full bath out of the deal!"

Naruto gulped and nodded:

"Yes, Ma'am!"

A few minutes later, Naruto was in paradise. Although it's been nearly one month since Tsunade took him to live with her, Naruto could still not get over how wonderful her cooking was.

"Dis is so gwod!"

Tsunade wanted to admonish him for talking with his mouth full but the happy expression on his face made her feel bad simply for attempting in her mind to ruin it.

Only a few minutes later, Naruto had already gobbled up the entire food, Tsunade barely having taken a few pieces. But she wasn't annoyed. She was watching with a fond smile how Naruto let himself fall on his back while sighing and patting his now bulging belly in content.

"There are days when I think that the food you make is almost as good as ramen!" Naruto said innocently, unknowingly making Tsunade's eye twitch. "Aa~ah, I wish every day to be like this!"

Until then, Naruto had thought that ramen was "the Food of the Gods", that no other food could compare with it. He still thought that ramen was the food of the gods, but after Tsunade took him in, the ramen's undisputed number 1 position in his heart started to be threatened.

 _'Everything she cooks is so good!'_ Naruto thought and closed his eyes in bliss.

But then, he felt his head being lifted up and he opened his eyes. Tsunade had come closer and made his head rest in her lap. Her hand started to run through his locks of hair and her soft caress nearly lulled him to sleep. But Naruto forced himself to stay awake. He wanted to enjoy the beautiful moment more. It was just like a month ago when he met Tsunade for the first time. Back then, she also let him sleep in her lap and she covered him with her haori while caressing his head in the same gentle fashion. Unknown to Tsunade, that was the memory Naruto treasured the most in his entire life.

A warm and powerful feeling filled his chest and Naruto couldn't help uttering:

"Auntie Tsunade, thank you!"

She smiled at him and cupped his small face with a surprisingly soft hand.

"What for?"

Although he leaned into her caress unabashedly, when he spoke, his voice was meek:

"For taking care of me. For wanting to be my family."

"Thank you!"

Tsunade was not ashamed in the least by the girlish squeal that she let out after that:

"Kya! You're so cute!"

It was in that moment, that Sasuke decided to leave. The scene in front of him reminded him of what he used to have. Of what he had lost and of who was responsible for that.

 _'Itachi!'_ Sasuke said, hatred burning in his eyes more than ever.

Had he not killed his parents and the entire clan, Sasuke would have been able to let himself be smothered in his mother's embrace too instead of walking by the river alone to calm himself down. Had Itachi not slaughtered his family, he would have had someone to love him too, someone to take care of him. He would have not been so lonely. The scene of Tsunade showing her almost motherly-like affection for Naruto, made Sasuke remember how his mother used to embrace and love him too.

 _'But she isn't among the living anymore!'_

With every second, the more he thought of it, the more his rage soared and the more his hatred rose. Unknowingly, at that moment, his eyes no longer held their normal appearance. Instead, the black of his iris became blood-red and a tomoe appeared in each of his eyes, slowly spinning around the pupils.

* * *

AN: Just a note; while Tsunade is suspected of being a sensor type shinobi as well, she was in that moment in the village, meaning that she was not having her guard up, expecting an enemy to be around. Furthermore, at that moment she was too preoccupied with dotting on Naruto to pay attention to anything else. That's why she didn't sense Sasuke hiding in the distance.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Till next time, cheers!

 _(Not an English native and I got no beta either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


	11. Chapter 11 - C-rank mission (1)

AN: Someone said that I should focus a bit more on the game itself and show more things about it. Fair enough, it's been noted down. I will try to involve more of the game's elements in the future chapters. That said, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!

"Hello" - normal talk

 _'Hello'_ \- thinking

* * *

 **Chapter 11 - C-rank mission (1)**

"Sasuke, do you understand the gravity of the situation?" the Hokage asked, his voice dead serious. He was not shouting, nor was he glaring but that dead calmness made a much bigger impact.

Even someone as dense as Naruto noticed the mood and instead of being his usual, boisterous self, he was being quiet, listening to the Hokage's words.

"The world of shinobi is chaotic, filled with both open and hidden dangers. It's a world where one single individual can harness enough power to threaten even a country. Because our world is like that, we need rules. And we need to enforce those rules with an iron hand. Otherwise, chaos will ensue. You walked out on a mission. You abandoned your comrades and left them to-"

"Come on, old man, it's was just a D-ranked mission. Painting a fence shouldn't even be called a mission-" Naruto tried to step in and said.

"Naruto, shut up!" the Hokage screamed and the other 4 occupants of the room froze as if petrified under the old shinobi's oppressive shout.

Turning his eyes to Sasuke, he said, his voice betraying the anger he felt:

"Two days ago you walked out on a D-ranked mission. But in two years from now, you might walk away on a B or even an A-ranked mission. What's going to happen then? Do you want to follow your brother's footsteps?"

Sasuke's clenched his fists tightly and glared at the Hokage.

"I'm nothing like Itachi!" he shouted, "Don't you dare compare me with the one that massacred my entire clan!"

The Hokage was not moved by the boy's outburst. When he spoke next, his words were meant for all of the three genins in front of him:

"The three of you seem to not understand what you have signed up for. What do you take the life as a shinobi for? You think it's all fun and games? As a shinobi, you will put your life at risk for the sake of your village. Many shinobi don't even go past the age of 30!"

"If you want to survive in the Shinobi World, you have to follow the rules. Because if you don't follow the rules, you will be thrown out. Branded as traitors."

Sarutobi brought his pipe to his mouth and inhaled deeply, the tobacco slowly calming him down.

"Abandoning a mission midway without a valid reason equals treason. And, depending on the importance of the mission, the penalty for that could be even execution."

Sarutobi knew that a D-ranked mission was insignificant. But he had been a jounin sensei himself and a father too. He knew that when children first become genins, they are highly impressionable. The life values and philosophy they develop at a young age will become their creed. A creed that most of them will never break. Because of that, it was very important for the older generation to instil in them from early on the correct values and make them understand the consequences of not abiding the law.

And, as the old man had intended, the three genins looked at him scared. They began to realize what responsibility rested on a shinobi's shoulders and how important it was for them to do their duty.

After dismissing the 3 genins, Sarutobi told Ebisu to remain. Puffing out from his pipe one last time, he placed it in a drawer of his desk. Then, crossing the fingers of his two hands, he brought them to his chin as he leaned on his elbows.

"Ebisu."

"H-Hai!" the jounin stuttered.

"What's your rank?"

"Excuse me?" he asked, not understanding where was the conversation going.

"I asked you what is your rank." the Hokage said, dead serious.

"Tokubetsu Jounin." Ebisu replied. He didn't dare to spout his usual lines about being an elite jounin in front of the Hokage.

"Need I remind the circumstances of your promotion to this rank?"

"N-No, sir."

But Sarutobi ignored his answer and continued:

"Your taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu are average. A solid chunin level... but nonetheless, a chunin. Not a jounin."

"Tokubetsu jounin is a rank that is usually given to those shinobi who, despite lacking the full capabilities of a full-fledged jounin, possess a particular skill that makes them outstanding, sometimes even invaluable."

"The first names that happen to come to my mind right now are Hayate Gekko and Mitarashi Anko. Hayate's ninjutsu and genjutsu skills may not on par to those of a full-fledged jounin but his taijutsu is and, above all, his kenjutsu is outstanding. He fully deserved to be given the rank of tokubetsu jounin."

"As for Mitarashi Anko, unlike most tokubetsu jounins, all her skills are on par with those of a full-fledged jounin, maybe even higher. Furthermore, her expertise in Intelligence Gathering - infiltration, torture and interrogation - is highly praised by Ibiki Morino, the head of TI Department. She is truly invaluable, an elite."

The Hokage's paused as to let his words sink in.

"Now where do you stand when compared to these two? What special skill do you possess? For what reason have you been promoted to the same rank as them, Ebisu?" he asked.

Ebisu's eyes fell to his feet, not daring to look the old man in the eyes when he replied. He knew where was the Hokage's question heading to.

"I've become a tokubetsu jounin thanks to my teaching skills."

The Hokage did not miss a beat:

"And what would it happen if a tokubetsu jounin's special skill proved in time to not be up to par with the rank?" Sarutobi asked, only for him to go ahead and give the answer himself: "They would be demoted."

"Your team of genins is one of the worst I've seen in decades. You failed in correcting their behaviour and, above all, not training them at all during the 3 weeks you've been their teacher doesn't help your case at all."

Ebisu revealed a shocked face at Sarutobi's words.

"How did I know?" Sarutobi asked in anticipation of his question. "Did you think that I would not keep an eye on the progress of the team that has both the Jincuuriki of the Nine-Tails AND the last survivor of the Uchiha clan?"

"You have 9 more weeks until Jiraiya will replace you. Take these 9 weeks as a trial. If your team's capabilities fall behind those of other genin teams at the end of this period, you will cease to be a tokubetsu jounin."

"Dismissed."

 _Scene break - next day_

"Um, sensei, I've already learned both tree and water walking." Ebisu had just finished explaining the theory behind the technique of tree walking and demonstrated it when Naruto spoke up.

The reactions he got were mixed. Ebisu looked at him startled and Sakura was in disbelief. She scoffed at him:

"Nice joke, Naruto. As if a dead last like you could possibly know such advanced techniques! Not even Sasuke-kun can I do it, are you saying you're better than him?"

"Advanced techniques?" Naruto asked before starting to laugh out loud.

"What are you laughing at, baka?!" Sakura burst in anger.

Naruto raised his hands behind his back and headed towards a nearby tree at a relaxed pace. Sakura was about to start screaming again but her voice died in her throat when Naruto, with his hands still behind his back, started to defy the gravity by walking up the trunk of the tree on a 90 degrees angle from the ground. Then, when he reached the lowest of the thicker branches of the tree, he walked on its underside, hanging with the sole of his feet from it like a bat. He stood there for a few seconds and then let himself fall towards the ground, doing a backflip in the process to land on his feet.

"Advanced techniques?" Naruto ridiculed, "Tree and water walking are the most elementary things a genin is supposed to learn after graduating from the Academy."

Then, coming closer to Sakura, he glared at her.

"I may have been the dead last at the beginning of the Academy, but things have changed. I'm not the same...and the way I see it, in this team, I'm not the dead last. Not anymore."

Sakura couldn't find her voice. Naruto's display of skill with the tree walking and his words to her were like a slap to her face. She had always ridiculed Naruto and never put him in her eyes. After all, he had always fallen short when compared to her crush, Uchiha Sasuke. And even more shocking for the girl was the fact that Sasuke was not denying his words.

Fully ignoring Sakura after the words she said to her, Naruto asked Ebisu:

"What should I now, sensei?"

Ebisu looked at Naruto through his shades deep in thought.

 _'I didn't expect this dumb brat to actually know not only the tree walking but even the water walking as well.'_

But when he thought about it again, the first emotion he felt was a relief. Given their grades at the Academy, the one he had been concerned about was Naruto - concerned not about Naruto's well-being but about the fact that the boy could prove to be too dumb to learn anything in the remaining time, which would lead in the end to the Hokage demoting him from his rank for his genin team's unsatisfactory performance. That Naruto proved to know both tree and water walking was for Ebisu the greatest news he received that week. He was confident that Sakura and Sasuke would have no trouble whatsoever in absorbing his teachings if their grades at the Academy were anything to go by.

Realizing that Naruto was still waiting for an answer, Ebisu adjusted the shades on his nose and said:

"I have to admit I'm really surprised that you already know tree and water walking. It takes up to 2 weeks to an average genin to learn to walk on trees fluently. How did you achieve that?"

"Auntie Tsunade trained me."

At his answer, Ebisu paled and a shiver of fear shook his body for a moment. He still had not forgotten the cruel beating the Slug Sannin gave him 3 weeks ago.

"W-Well... erm...until Sakura and Sasuke learn the tree walking techniques... I guess there isn't much that you can do."

There actually was - while Sakura and Sasuke practised tree walking, Ebisu could spar with Naruto and train his taijutsu. But then, Tsunade's words came at the top of his mind.

 _"If I hear you ever as much as lay a finger on Naruto from now on, I'll kill you. Do you hear me, worm?"_

The jounin wiped off the sweat that suddenly started to appear on his forehead. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if Naruto were to get injured because of him.

"So what, am I supposed to just sit here and stare at them all day long?!" Naruto asked incredulously.

"You can have today and tomorrow off." Ebisu said after a slight hesitation. "But the day after tomorrow we'll have combat lessons. You will have to come here too."

 _Scene break - 1 month later_

Three genins were walking dispiritedly behind a jounin that, contrary to their mood, was in very high spirits:

"This is Team 7's first C-rank mission! This is the first real pace you took towards greatness!"

"What greatness? We've been running around in circles looking for clues that don't exist. Admit it, pervert, we got lost!" Naruto jeered.

Stopping, Ebisu turned back towards him and adjusted his shades before saying:

"Shut your trap! I'm an elite jounin, while you're just a dumb brat! You'll never become a Hokage even if you had 2 lives, not one!"

"Listen," Ebisu said then to the other two, "if you follow his example, you'll only get dumber. I'm an elite jounin, I've trained many Hokage candidates until now!"

"And how many of them have become Hokages until now?" Naruto asked, before snickering. "That's right! None! Ahaha!"

Ebisu's face turned a bright red and he looked like he was doing everything in his power not to explode.

"You cocky little shit-!" Ebisu growled through gnashed teeth and grabbed Naruto by the collar of his black t-shirt.

Sasuke and Sakura both distanced themselves and looked at the two warily. However, Naruto still looked unperturbed, all the while sporting an infuriating grin.

"Heeh~ ...what are you gonna do? Are you gonna hit poor little me?" Naruto mocked and even turned his head to the side, showing him his cheek. "Come on, hit me if you dare!"

The jounin was trembling in rage. It took a while to reign his anger in but eventually, he let go of Naruto and exhaled loudly.

"I'm going to scout the zone ahead. Wait for me here." Ebisu said curtly and disappeared into the forest.

Naruto laughed obnoxiously when he left.

"Shitty pervert."

 _'You know someone is really stupid when he gets outfoxed in a spar of words by even a dumbass like Naruto.'_ Sakura palmed her own forehead, lamenting at their misfortune of having Ebisu as their jounin sensei.

Still, turning her attention to Naruto, the girl said:

"Naruto, you should stop antagonizing him like that. One day, he won't be able to take it anymore and you'll be in deep trouble."

The boy in question scoffed in derision and crossed his arm to his chest.

"What's he going to do? The moment he as much as hits me with a finger, auntie Tsunade will beat the shit out of him. Last time when she beat him up, he pissed his pants out of fear."

"Wait, for real?" Sakura asked wide-eyed.

Naruto snickered.

"Yes. He's a pervert and an idiot." Naruto said sagely.

Ever since Tsunade has beaten Ebisu up, Naruto never lost an opportunity to annoy and push Ebisu to the limits of his sanity. Knowing that the jounin would not dare harm him because of his fear of Tsunade, Naruto took every chance he had to get back him for how he had been treated in the beginning. Because it was not only Ebisu that hated Naruto's guts. Naruto hated him as well. It was a mutual feeling. Furthermore, for the first time, Naruto was experiencing the feeling of having someone watching out for him, standing up for him... protecting him. Every time he annoyed Ebisu, he was reminded of the fact that Tsunade was protecting him. Sometimes, he was doing it just for that.

"Most useless sensei we could possibly get." Sasuke also added, finally speaking after a long time of silence.

"T-That's right!" Sakura said too, showing that she was in tune with the opinion of her crush. "Other teams had their first C-rank mission like around a month after they became genins. But us? Two months passed before we finally got this mission!"

The three genins continued to throw with mud on Ebisu's name for quite a while.

"Chet! This is so boring that I'd rather go back to D-ranks." Naruto complained after a while.

It was supposed to be a C-rank mission. In the genins' mind, it was supposed to be much more exciting. In the Shinobi world, missions were given a rank, according to their level of difficulty:

 _D-rank_ : it usually consisted of plain chores like going to buy various things from the convenience store, ploughing the field, catching lost pets and even babysitting. Every fresh team of genins would be assigned these tasks.

 _C-rank_ : the level of difficulty rose and they would be assigned to experienced genins or fresh chunins, led by a jounin sensei. Some examples of missions could be: escorting a merchant, eliminating a camp of bandits, killing wild beasts that wreaked havoc and so on. But, very important to know would be that the team would not encounter any shinobi enemy during a C-ranked mission.

 _B-rank_ : they had a rather high level of difficulty that involved a real risk of dying because during a B-rank mission one would certainly encounter other shinobi. This type of missions would be assigned to a team of experienced chunins led by a jounin-sensei or to jounins. Examples of missions could be: eliminating a missing-nin, spying, stealing and even assassinations.

 _A-rank_ : they would be assigned exclusively to experienced and very capable jounins. The objectives of these missions were similar to the ones of the B-rank missions but the degree of difficulty was much higher.

That said, although the mission that Team 7 had been assigned would not involve fighting other shinobi, Naruto and Sasuke were still looking forward to some action. Their mission was to find a missing person: Genmai, from Inaho village.

"Argh, missing person my ass!" Naruto yelled after half an hour of waiting in the same place, without doing anything. Ebisu had yet to come back. "That Genmai dude is probably in a casino or just drank himself into a stupor and forgot to come home!"

"Unless, Genmai is a gambling addict like your caretaker, he wouldn't forget to come home." Sasuke scoffed while also jabbing at Tsunade's vice of gambling.

"What was that, teme?! I'll have you know that auntie Tsunade never comes late from work and I never saw her drink!" Naruto yelled in anger.

"Stop being an idiot, Naruto, everyone knows about her infamous nickname - _the legendary sucker_." Sakura said and laughed, obviously taking Sasuke's part.

Naruto suddenly grabbed her by the collar of her dress and slammed her into the trunk of a tree.

"SHUT UP!" he screamed, his spittle flying into her face. But she was frozen in shock and too frightened by his sudden outburst.

Sasuke quickly came next to them and grabbed Naruto by the arm:

"Calm down, dobe, we're in the middle of a missi-" Sasuke tried to say, only to suddenly choke with his words when the air abruptly left his lungs.

Sasuke found himself flying through the air and only when he collapsed a few good feet away did he finally register the insane amount of pain coming from his stomach. Curling up like a snail, he began to cough desperately, as he tried to breathe. Sakura was on the ground as well, frozen in disbelief at what she had just seen - Naruto attacked Sasuke! It looked like a mere punch in the gut but that 'simple' punch hurled Sasuke through the air like a broken kite and, now, the boy was struggling to even lift himself up to his feet.

"No-one talks like that about aunt Tsunade, you hear me? I'll beat up everyone that talks shit about her, even the Hokage!" Naruto yelled, still enraged.

Someone like Sakura could never understand the reason behind Naruto's seemingly exaggerated reaction. After all, she would often yell at her own mother and get into arguments with her for the most trivial reasons. That's how she was.

But Naruto was different - he has always been alone. Yet, in the darkest hour of his life, someone lent him a hand and picked him up from the ground. And, if that was not enough, that someone also offered him a new home, showered him with her affection and decided to become his mother-figure. The gratitude Naruto felt for Tsunade could not be expressed in words. She had saved and changed his life. She took care of all of his material needs, she trained him and even more, she gave him the attention and love he has always craved. She acknowledged him - and wanting to be acknowledged by other people was the very reason that had once led him to want to become a Hokage.

Tsunade was his hero. In Naruto's eyes, she had no flaws, she was perfect. Hearing Sasuke and Sakura insulting her, was more than he could bear with. (1)

"You're so going to pay for that, loser!" Sasuke groaned as he pushed with his hands against the ground and glared at Naruto, his eyes a blood red colour now - he had activated his Sharingan.

It was at that moment, however, that a large spike of earth burst from the ground. It was too unexpected, the three genins never saw it coming. The spike smashed into Naruto and Sakura, nearly impaling the latter.

* * *

AN: Yep, not the Land of Waves mission. Well, I did say that this fic will start out as the canon but gradually become AU - so it's not going to fully repeat the canon. That said, probably some of you recognize which is the mission that Team 7 got in my fic this time around - it's from Naruto: The Cross Roads (ova).

In the next chapter, you will also get to see the results of Naruto training under Tsunade for nearly 2 months :)

(1) Remember, in canon, Naruto was very impulsive. When he met Tsunade for the first time and she mocked his dream of becoming the Hokage, he got very angry and jumped to fight her. If he reacted like that for having his dream insulted, how would he react when someone insulted the one person that changed his life and treated him like her own son?

I hope you liked it. Till next time, cheers!

 _(Not an English native and no beta either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)_


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